Baltimore Alternative, June 15-July 14, 1987

ThE Baltimore June \5- July 14 , 1987 VoL 2. No. 6 мтттт AnotHer Voice , AnotHer ChoicE... FREE HERO Sponsors AIDS Conference OMNI Meeting Precedes Inti. Conference in D.C. by Garey Lambert BALTIMORE — The week before the Third International AIDS. Confer¬ ence in Washington, HERO sponsored three days of meetings for political leaders, and health care professionals at the Omni Hotel in downtown Balti¬ more. The First day, Wednesday, May 27, was open to anyone who wished to attend, while the Thursday and Friday sessions required an admission. It had been expected that atten¬ dance would be large, but HERO did not publicize the event widely, and many invitations were mailed very late or not at all. Several attendees reported that they knew nothing of the confer¬ ence until they received a phone call from a HERO representative the day before the meeting. As a result, atten¬ dance was estimated to be about one hundred, with no state or city legisla¬ tors attending. Speakers included Anne McFarren, Executive Director of the AIDS Action Council; Paula Van Ness, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director of Information and Education; Dr. Edward Brandt, Chancellor of the University of Maryland and Chairman of the Govern¬ or's Task Force on AIDS; Dr. John Bar¬ tlett of the AIDS program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Eric Fine of the State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Preventive Disease Division. Thp reports from the State officials indicate that the AIDS problem in Ma¬ ryland is larger than earlier estimated, and that Governor William Donald Schaefer is seriously concerned. As a result, the Governor's new Task Force on AIDS will have up to 27 members, though there has been no commitment to include representatives from the Gay community on the panel. The new Task Force is charged with advising busi¬ ness leaders, public and private institu¬ tions, and the legislature, as well as Governor Schaefer. Meetings will be open to the public and are to begin in June. State reports also indicate that Ma¬ ryland is Finally preparing to address the serious deficiencies in providing patient services in the state, and especially Baltimore City. In Baltimore, there is yet to be a case management system, as there is in Prince George's County, and the Baltimore City Health Depart¬ ment is currently vascillating on how patient services money is to be dis¬ bursed. The state evidently wants com¬ munity based patient services, but how, such programs would be established was not explained. However, Eric Fine reported that funding for patient servic¬ es would be $1.2 million for 1988. The state has plans to expand Project Home, the state sponsored program that provides housing for indigent Per¬ sons with AIDS. It is also planning to change regulations so that the state can require nursing homes to cooperate in providing room for PWAs. The state is also currently surveying Maryland's hospitals to see if room can be found to care for PWAs who do not require inpa¬ tient acute care. The outlook for AIDS in Maryland is very bleak, with Johns Hopkins re¬ searcher Dr. John Bartlett reporting that under the newly revised CDC defini¬ tions, up to 50% of those with HIV in- Continued on page 19 Firefighters Seeking AIDS Protection by Chris Adams, staff writer for The Evening Sun The head of the Baltimore firefight¬ ers union has urged Johns Hopkins Hospital to establish procedures that would protect members who respond to emergencies from possible exposure to the AIDS virus. Jeffery DeLisle, president of Fire¬ fighters Local 734, also voiced his an¬ ger yesterday at hospital officals who failed to notify union members that they came in contact with the blood of a woman who tested positive for the AIDS virus during an emergency run Monday. DeLisle said it is imperative that Hopkins establish procedures for deal¬ ing with such cases. Joann Rodgers, a Hopkins spoke- woman, said the first ground rule the hospital abides by is guaranteed pa¬ tient-doctor confidentiality, which has priority over "broadcasting to the world that someone has AIDS." The controversy stems from the death of Jewel Foster Lyles, 25, who was killed by an arrow shot from a crossbow in East Baltimore Monday night. Lyles, nine months pregnant, was struck by an arrow inteded for someone else as she walked on Federal Street. She died at Hopkins 30 minutes later and her baby, which was dcliverd by Caesarean section, died the next day. ' Six fire department personnel-four in a fire engine and two in an ambu¬ lance-responded to the emergency. They found Lyles bleeding heavily and vomiting and two of the firefighters were extensively exposed to Lyles' blood as she was loaded into the am¬ bulance. Yesterday, the state's chief medical examine, Dr. John Smialek, released the results of a Wednesday autopsy showing that both Lyles and her baby tested positive for exposure to the ac¬ quired immune deficiency syndrome vi¬ rus. From Monday night to Wednesday, however, the firefighters received no official word that she and her baby tested positive for the AIDS virus. What firefighters did hear, DeLisle said, was secondhand information from a police officer who had gone to the hospital in connection with the inci¬ dent. DeLisle said he tried to talk to Hopkins officials but they wouldn't re¬ lease the information, so he had to wait for the medical examiner’s report. Continued on page 19 Clarke Announces Council Presidency Bid Mary Pat Clarke, a strong, outspok¬ en proponent of Gay rights bills during her eight years as 2nd District City Councilwoman, has announced her campaign for City Council President. Her announcement puts her in com- pctition v:'h declared candidates Dele¬ gate Larry Young (D-Baltimore) and Register of Wills, Mary W. Conaway. Ms. Clarke announced her candidacy at Abbottston Elementary School in northeast Baltimore. The school repre¬ sented a victory coalition of Clarke, po¬ litical leaders, teachers and parents who fought in 1980 to keep Abbottstqn open against city school officials' plans. "Being here represents a long¬ standing commitment — as parent, tea¬ cher and legislator— to quality public education for all of Baltimore's chil¬ dren," Ms. Clarke stated. Ms. Clarke lost to Clarence Bums in the 1983 race for council presidency. Currently, Clarke shows first in the polls. Clarke "doesn't believe in polls," stating she is working to build grass¬ roots support and enhance her cam¬ paign treasury which has already raised $35,000. In This Issm; Urbiculture 3,4 Across America 5,6 Across the Atlantic 7 Editorial/Opinion 8,9 Between the Covers 12 B's B'more 13 Geraty 15 Sights 'n Sounds 16, 17 Religion 18 Classifieds 23 This issue contains a special article on Alternative Therapies. Please see pages 10 and 11. Gay/Lesbian Pride Week '87 June 19 Barry Adam — GLCCB, Lecture: GaylLesbian Liberation Movement History at 6-7 :30 p.m. Theatre Closet's Greatest Hits— GLCCB, Performance at 8:00 p.m. June 20 Pat Bond —Langsdale Auditorium, Performance "Beloved Hick" at 8:00 p.m. June 21 PRIDE PARADE & FESTIVAL — Mount Vernon Park, up Park Avenue to Chase Street, Noon-6 p.m. Metropolitan Community Church— Chore Street, Ecumenical service at 6:00 pm. Benefit for GLCCB — The Hippo, Tea Dance Tea Dance for HERO Benefit — Cignel, 6 p.m.-2 a m. $5.00 June 28 New York Gay Pride Bus Trip — leaves from Chase Street at 7:00 a.m.