The Edisto Health District, serving Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties, has the highest rate in the state of people infected with HIV/AIDS.

According to a 2008 surveillance report from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, Orangeburg County ranks number four among the state's 46 counties in the incidence of AIDS infection and number three with its rate of HIV infection.

These statistics have led to the organization of the 2009 AIDS Walk, which will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 5, at Edisto Memorial Gardens. Registration and warm-up will start at 9 a.m. The walk will end at Memorial Plaza, where a short program will be held.

"We continue to rank pretty high within the state for the rate of HIV. We have a high rate of STDs," said Sallie Bachman, site supervisor for Orangeburg's HopeHealth clinic, which sponsors the walk.

"There's a definite need for healthy sexual behavior. There's a preconceived notion of what HIV is that's not always accurate."

HopeHealth is the new home of The Changes Clinic, which was established in Orangeburg in 1991 and singled out by former President Bill Clinton to illustrate the success of federal funding for AIDS clinics. The clinic provides outpatient treatment and care for people with HIV and AIDS living in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties.

The clinic was housed in the Orangeburg County Health Department before finding a new home as part of Florence-based HopeHealth, the state's largest AIDS service organization serving those living with HIV/AIDS in 12 counties. The Ryan White CARE Act is the federal legislation that provides funding for facilities offering free medical care to HIV and AIDS patients.

Bachman said the walk is more than just a fund-raiser.

"It's to raise awareness and promote information to celebrate people who have come before and who are currently living a productive, healthy life with AIDS," she said. "I think a lot of people think that if you're diagnosed as positive, then it's a death sentence. It doesn't have to be that way.

"We've come a long way from where it was 20 years ago," Bachman said, thanks to better medications and research into "the life of the disease and how it multiplies and behaves."

Money raised is used locally for the clinic's outreach initiatives, including covering the expense of medical appointments for clients who may not be able to afford them.

"The Ryan White CARE Act does not cover that. It is very specific as to what it will cover, so there are things that will always fall out of those funding parameters," Bachman said. "The thing about what we do is provide holistic care: medical care, case management, nutrition and referrals to specialty doctors."

She said HopeHealth staff also go beyond the clinic walls to speak at churches and local clubs on HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

Bachman said individuals do not have to collect donations to participate in the 2009 AIDS Walk. Those who do can bring their collected donations with their registration forms to the walk.

"Individuals can collect as many pledges as they can and come down that day," she said. "They are welcome to send a pledge if they're unable to walk. Organizations as a whole can also donate."

Individuals who donate $20 will receive a 2009 AIDS Walk T-shirt, and $75 donors will receive a 2009 AIDS Walk T-shirt and sweatshirt. Individuals donating $200 will receive a $75 gift card along with a T-shirt and sweatshirt. Individuals who donate $400 will receive a $150 gift card along with a T-shirt and sweatshirt. All checks should be made payable to Hope Health.

For more information on the 2009 AIDS Walk, call 803-585-0412.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

Testing sites

The following free HIV testing sites will highlight the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness and education:

-- The OCAB Tri-County HIV Prevention Collaboration conducts free, confidential HIV testing using the rapid OraQuick method at OCAB Community Action Agency from 9 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

-- The CORE Center in Holly Hill will conduct HIV testing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30. The center is across from Shuler and Marshall Funeral Home.

-- Nurse Bonnie Fogle of the Orangeburg County Health Department will conduct traditional needle testing at the following times and sites on Tuesday, Dec. 1: 1 to 4 p.m. at the Kirkland W. Green Student Center at South Carolina State University, and 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Samaritan House on Middleton Street. Both rapid finger-stick testing and traditional needle testing is conducted at the Orangeburg County Health Department. For more information, call Fogle at 803-533-7296.

-- The Minority AIDS Council will conduct rapid OraQuick testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Victory Tabernacle Church, 681 Broughton St. in Orangeburg.

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