2016 marks the 35th anniversary of the start of the nation's H-I-V/AIDS epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control estimates 1 thousand Ohioans will become infected this year, and a significant percentage will not be tested early.
John Corlett with the Center for Community Solutions says his organization's report shows Ohio agencies lack the coordination to focus available resources to end the epidemic.
He says the report shows the Ohio Departments of Health and Medicaid do not collaborate to track whether people living with the disease are receiving medical care. And in 2015, the state returned 8.5 million dollars in unspent federal Ryan White funds intended to get more minorities H-I-V care services. Corlett wants the state to use the money in other ways, rather than returning it.
Corlett says 4 thousand Ohioans have H-I-V and the state's rate of new infections is slightly higher than the national average.