On Thursday, December 1, 2022, the Cooper Division of Infectious Diseases, Early Intervention Program (EIP), and Division of Addiction Medicine, Center for Healing collaborated with other departments across Cooper, the Camden County Police Department (CCPD), and community partners and stakeholders across the state to commemorate World AIDS Day with a memorial walk, interfaith memorial service, and health fair. Together, the group walked the streets to honor those lost and to raise awareness for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) and comorbidities including substance use disorder (SUD). News coverage of the walk, including video and audio interviews with EIP team members, can be found on CBS Philadelphia and KYW Newsradio.
Cooper University Health Care team members stand with the Camden County Police Department (CCPD) and other community partners and stakeholders from across the state in front of the CCPD Camden headquarters at the start of the community memorial walk.
The event continued with a memorial service held inside St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where interfaith sermons on the stigma of HIV/AIDS and hope for continued advancements in the medical field were facilitated by Reverend Z. Mark Smith, St. Paul’s Rector, and Rabbi Lewis John Eron. Yolanda Smith, EIP Health Education Coordinator, provided a vocal solo, and a patient provided a testimonial on their journey of treatment and healing. Participants lit candles and acknowledged those the community has lost, with renewed commitment to honor and care for those living with the disease. Henry S. Fraimow, MD, Infectious Diseases Specialist, recited a mi shebeirach for those living with HIV/AIDS, and Cheryl Betteridge, EIP Clinical Navigator, led the prayers of the people with participants adding their personal petitions. The service closed with a special hymn for which Yolanda Smith provided another vocal solo, a benediction led by Father Mark Smith, and acknowledgement of Luz Avila, EIP Clinical Navigator, who is retiring, and Tonya Shorter, EIP Clinical Navigator, who oversaw the planning committee and execution of the impactful event.
Cooper team members stand with the CCPD and other community partners and stakeholders in front of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church just prior to the interfaith memorial service.
The event concluded with a health fair held upstairs at St. Paul’s, where the EIP team provided free testing services and resources, and the Division of Addiction Medicine, Center for Healing team shared a table with provision of resources on programming for pregnant and parenting women struggling with substance use or SUD, and full coverage services for uninsured and underinsured people including those experiencing undocumentation. The teams are grateful for the many entities that provided collaboration and support, including the Center for LGBTQ+ Health and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN), and community partners and stakeholders including the CCPD, Camden Area Health Education Center, Project H.O.P.E., South Jersey AIDS Alliance, Pinnacle Treatment Centers, and Jefferson Health. Participants and the general public were further provided giveaways and free meals.
Cooper team members gather to light candles during the interfaith memorial service held inside St. Paul’s.
EIP and Center for Healing team members gather at a table with EIP and Center for Healing resources during the health fair held inside St. Paul’s.
Cooper team members stand with community partners and stakeholders at the end of the health fair.
Support Available Through Cooper:
The Division of Infectious Diseases and EIP provide comprehensive and exceptional medical care for complex and common infections including and not limited to HIV/AIDS, endocarditis, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Experts evaluate and manage acute and chronic infections in both inpatient and outpatient settings, with multidisciplinary care enhanced by teams of specially trained nurses and support from other Cooper specialists in case management, behavioral health, addiction medicine, pharmacology, and gastroenterology. Comprehensive infectious disease services include and are not limited to patient consultation, managing treatment with antibiotics, critical care consultation, and the EIP for immunodeficiency conditions. The Division of Infectious Diseases and EIP are recognized by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) as a Center of Excellence (COE) for Antimicrobial Stewardship. For more information about clinical services, click here.
The Center for Healing provides cutting-edge and inclusive care for all patients struggling with SUD, pain, trauma, and psychiatric disorders. With outpatient treatment locations in Camden, Blackwood, and Pennsville, and an inpatient treatment location, Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper, as well as an inpatient hospital consult service, the center provides myriad treatment options for all patients. Medical specialty services include and are not limited to transition care for people recently released from incarceration; an emergency department (ED) and hospital bridge program; a low-barrier walk-in clinic; integrated addiction and infectious disease care; dual diagnosis psychiatric and addiction care; individual, group, and family behavioral health care; a wraparound perinatal program, Empowering Mothers to Parent and Overcome with Resilience (EMPOWR); and full coverage services for SUD and mental health for uninsured and underinsured people including those experiencing undocumentation. For more information about clinical services, click here.
The Center for Healing is recognized by the State of New Jersey as a Medication for Addiction Treatment Center of Excellence (MATCOE). Through its COE designation, the center hosts Addiction Breakfast Clubs (ABCs), consortia based in Camden County and other Southern New Jersey regions, open to all MAT providers and providers interested in practice implementation of MAT in addition to all community stakeholders supportive of MAT and harm reduction strategies. Through its recurring meetings, the group facilitates peer collaboration and patient referrals, and strategizes ways to improve integrated care. During the Friday, December 2, 2022 Camden and Cumberland Counties’ convening, Rachel Ehrman–Dupre, MD, Addiction Medicine Specialist; Carley Schaffer, LCADC, CCTP, CCS, EIP Counselor; Keyandria Jenkins, EIP Medical Care Coordinator; and Kelly Williams, EIP Clinical Supervisor, facilitated a presentation on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that people who are at risk for HIV can take to help prevent getting HIV from sex or injection drug use (IDU). To access this presentation and/or to join an ABC, please email Patricia Fortunato, Center for Healing Content Manager, at fortunato-patricia@cooperhealth.edu.
To learn more about important clinical terms regarding HIV/AIDS, SUD, and treatment, click here.
