Building Bridges HIV/AIDS Conference to Begin Tuesday

KINGSTON- October 14, 2004

Medical professionals from Florida, Jamaica, and around the Caribbean will come together in Kingston next week to examine issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, including diagnosis, treatments, myths, and stigma, in a two day conference titled "My Brother, My Sister, My Friend: The Many Faces Of HIV/AIDS." The conference will take place October 19-20, 2004 at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other health professionals will listen to lectures from HIV/AIDS experts and participate in discussions covering topics ranging from mother to child transmission (MTCT) to latest innovation in HIV/AIDS treatment.  Baptist Health of South Florida, the largest not-for-profit health care organization in South Florida, has partnered with the U.S. Embassy and physicians in Kingston to organize the conference.

A nurses' forum, which is open to the public, will follow the conference, taking place October 20 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Jamaica Conference Centre.  Nurses from South Florida Caribbean Nurses Association and Jamaican nurses will discuss issues relating to care and support of HIV/AIDS patients. 

The Building Bridges HIV/AIDS conference is the final event in the yearlong series of successful events under an initiative dubbed "Building Bridges: The Florida-Jamaica Connection" conceived by U.S Ambassador to Jamaica Sue M. Cobb. Building Bridges seeks to foster social and economic development and to facilitate contacts between Jamaica's and Florida's public and private sectors in areas of mutual interest.