BALTIMORE - Chase Brexton Health Care's second annual AIDS Walk & Run Baltimore raised over $87,000 to expand HIV/AIDS education, testing, treatment and related care in the region. Despite the cold and rainy morning, over 400 participants came to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on Sunday, May 1, to walk, run and volunteer to support Chase Brexton.
For anyone who missed the event but would still like to donate to improve access to HIV/AIDS testing and care in Baltimore, Chase Brexton is accepting donations through June 30, 2016, at www.BaltimoreAIDSWalk.org.
Funds raised this year will help furnish two new mobile HIV testing, education and assistance vehicles, which were unveiled on Sunday. Proceeds from last year's event were used to purchase the two mobile units.
"We could not be happier with the success of this year's AIDS Walk & Run," said Eric Heydorn, Chase Brexton special events manager. "HIV and AIDS remain a major problem in Baltimore and a leading cause of death here. We are so thankful to all of the participants, volunteers and sponsors who braved the rain to support this critically important effort to raise funds to expand testing and treatment."
Baltimore's rate of infection is 7.5 times higher than the national average, according to the CDC. HIV/AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death in the city of Baltimore, but at least one in six residents has not been tested for HIV. Baltimore City alone accounts for 41 percent of all new cases in Maryland.
For more than three decades, Chase Brexton has maintained a leading role in battling HIV/AIDS. Now a multi-faceted health center offering a continuum of care to a diverse community, Chase Brexton continues to provide comprehensive HIV-targeted case management services. These services include physical exams; ongoing follow-up visits with patients; diagnostic tests; treatment for patients co-infected with Hepatitis B or C; nutritional assessments and consultations; and intensive patient health education and support for HIV medications.
