I have been an RN since 1975 and have worked at VUMC since 1987. I started working with HIV+ patients in 1991 and completed my MSN, FNP at VUSN that same year. I have been with the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic (VCCC) since it opened in February, 1994. We were located off site at a clinic on Charlotte Ave from 1994 until 2010 when we moved to our current location at One Hundred Oaks.
My current role is caring for HIV+ patients. One of the most rewarding components of my practice is the Obstetric Comprehensive Care Clinic (OC3).
The VCCC follows over 3000 HIV/AIDS patients. When we opened, our goal was to help our patients die with dignity. With the onset of protease inhibitors in 1995-96, our focus became the hope of living. Since that time HIV has been reclassified as a chronic illness and we are providing primary care to HIV+ patients who have a near-normal life expectancy. I have been caring for some of my patients for >20 years.
I think one of our biggest challenges is affordable health care. Although many of our patients live below poverty they don’t qualify for TN Care. This is further complicated due to our state’s refusal to expand funding. How affordable health care will work is an unknown but a way must be found to provide health care to vulnerable populations. Because the medications are so costly, we struggle to devise antiretroviral medication regimens that our patients can obtain. They struggle simply to afford their co-pays. Such challenges to accessing and paying for health care is a public health issue as patients who have a detectable viral load are more likely to transmit the virus to their partners. Our successes at Obstetric Comprehensive Care Clinic (OC3) are what I am most proud of professionally.