Sue Lawrence, nurse practitioner (NP,) in Hope and Boston Bar is on the cutting edge of treatment and prevention in the field of HIV. Lawrence brought The Hope Standard up to speed on some new developments in the controversial world of an illness that is rapidly becoming less stigmatized and accepted by the medical community and society as a whole.
“I’ve been an NP for six years as a family practitioner for Fraser Health,” said Lawrence. HIV care was largely coastal, and people were having to be transported to Vancouver for treatment. There’s not a high population of known HIV patients here, but perhaps more than we think.”
Untested patients are to be factored into the undisclosed numbers of people living with HIV. Exposure, education, and standardized testing for the virus are key components to prevention according to Lawrence. By standardizing HIV tests and working them into regular lab work, the stigma is lessening with the familiarity of what would traditionally be considered a frightening proposition to most – an HIV test.
If the virus is caught early, treatment can begin with immediacy, and people can live full and productive lives with proper medications. Lawrence was asked by Fraser Health to embark on a preceptorship for treatment through the B.C. Centre for Excellence HIV/AIDS program offered by St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. After completing an intensely concentrated month long program online, where she studied the extensive list of new medications available to patients, Lawrence was prepared to take on HIV patients in Boston Bar and Hope.