Partners Aids Research Center Patient Care

The participating institutions of the Partners AIDS Research Center have been providing excellent care to people infected with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic. In addition to world-renowned in-patient facilities, the institutions of the Partners HealthCare System house outpatient facilities directed to the provision of compassionate care to HIV infected individuals.

The Brigham and Women's Hospital has been providing inpatient and outpatient care to HIV infected people since the disease first came to be known. At BWH, care of patients with HIV involves a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Infectious Disease specialists, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and dieticians. At the time of initial diagnosis or referral, all individuals with HIV are evaluated for medical, nursing, and psychosocial needs. They are then followed longitudinally in an outpatient practice that provides both consultative and primary care, depending on patient preference. In the event of hospitalization, members of this team also follow the patients during their inpatient stay. An important goal of the team is to help patients access the wide variety of available HIV-related services both at the hospital and in the community.

In addition to providing care for patients within the practice, the HIV program at BWH has strong consulting relationships with additional programs. Patients are referred from health care providers working in many different fields, but especially from those of hemophilia and obstetrics, as well as Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and from BWH's affiliated community health centers, Brookside, Southern Jamaica Plain, and Martha Elliott.

As one of the sites of the Harvard AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU), BWH offers its patients a wide variety of research studies in which their patients may participate, including multiple ACTG trials and additional investigator-initiated or industry-funded studies. To facilitate this process, BWH’s Clinical Trials Center adjoins the outpatient space for HIV patients. This 4,000 square foot facility includes exam rooms, a conference room, phlebotomy and lab-processing areas, a waiting and reception area, and workrooms available for study monitors and other personnel.

A comprehensive outpatient clinic for the treatment of HIV infected persons at MGH has been in existence since 1985. This recently expanded dedicated HIV outpatient facility provides comprehensive primary care to HIV infected individuals, as well as consultative services to other health care practitioners involved in the care of HIV infected persons. The staff includes full time Infectious Disease trained physicians who specialize in HIV infection, nurse practitioners, nurses and an AIDS Clinical Fellow. On site consultative services include Dermatology and Neurology, as well a social workers, case managers, acupuncture and a relaxation/meditation center. Close clinical collaborations with other specialists at the Massachusetts General Hospital allows for highly integrated care, both in the outpatient and inpatient settings.

The outpatient facility also houses the a site of the Harvard/Boston Medical Center AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) clinical activities, which has sponsored over 50 ACTG trials of experimental therapeutics for HIV since it was initiated in 1986. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, an institute within the NIH, funds it, and the principal investigator is Martin S. Hirsch, MD, who is responsible for the overall conduct and coordination of the program. The ACTU has a dedicated and talented staff, which is comprised of other physicians, research nurses, data managers, laboratory technologists and other medical research personnel, to assist in the performance of numerous ACTU and other clinical trials. For more information, refer to the Clinical Trials at Partners link.

A large state-funded sexually transmitted disease clinic (see MGH STD Clinic link) offers both anonymous and confidential HIV testing, as well as evaluation of other concerns. In turn, HIV-infected patients newly identified at the STD Clinic are able to receive clinical care and learn about research trials on site.

A Center for AIDS Oncology has been established within the MGH Cancer Center and is under the direction of Dr. David Scadden, Partners AIDS Research Center co-director. This is an outpatient, fully renovated ambulatory care unit and infusion center that provides consultative and care services for patients with hematological and oncologic complications of HIV disease. In addition, the MGH has been the main administrative site of the Boston AIDS Malignancy Consortium since 1996, led by Dr. Scadden and funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Patients with hematologic and oncologic complications of HIV may be seen within the DFPCC AIDS Oncology Center, one of the sites chosen for the Boston AIDS Malignancy Consortium, under Dr. Scadden's direction. This is a newly established facility that provides consultative and longitudinal care located at the Dana-Farber building for ambulatory care and the BWH for in-patient care.

With the award in 2000 of a Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) grant by the NIH, the interaction between the clinical care services for HIV infected patients and the clinical and research scientists at Partners is further strengthened. The CFAR grant helps AIDS research programs currently based at the Center expand and reach out to other institutions in the Boston area. These include the other CFAR member institutions (Fenway Community Health Center and the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital), and community organizations such as Cambridge Cares about AIDS, Soldiers in Health, Positive Directions, Boston Living Center, and the Lowell Community Health Center.

In the event that you are newly diagnosed and would like to speak with someone, please contact one of our lead study nurses:

Mary Johnston, RN, (617) 726-3819
Nichole Burgett, RN, (617) 726-1475

Please refer to the Clinical Trials section of the site.