Pittsburgh Will of Council on HIV Testing Event on November 29

On November 29, the Pittsburgh City Council will vote on a Will of Council urging the state to require HIV testing to be offered during all routine doctor's visits. Prior to the council meeting, a short event will take place detailing the importance of the measure, including stories of patients who were not offered HIV testing as part of routine health care and became very sick.

The event will include remarks from:

- Corey O'Connor, Pittsburgh City Councilman and sponsor of the Will of Council
- Deborah McMahon, MD, Medical Director, UPMC Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment Clinic
- Gordon Liu, MD, UPMC
- Stuart Fisk, CRNP, Allegheny General Hospital

Though the CDC recommends that all visitors to primary care physicians be offered an HIV test as part of preventative care, this recommendation is too often overlooked, sometimes with disastrous results. When HIV infections are missed, individuals are able to transmit the virus to others and serious health problems can develop.

The Will of Council is part of a series of events for World AIDS Day (December 1) including a webinar on the importance of routine HIV testing for physicians hosted by AIDS Free Pittsburgh on November 30, a conference hosted by the MidAtlantic AIDS Education & Training Center on December 1 and a screening of "United in Anger" hosted by Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, Reel Q and the GLCC on December 2, among others.

The event will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at the Pittsburgh City Council Chambers City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For information,