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AAP News Vol. 13 No. 8 August 1997, p. 1 © 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics
Ever since he was born, Timothy, an HIV patient who lives in northern Wisconsin, has been cared for by a team of infectious disease specialists nearly 400 miles away at Milwaukee Children's Hospital. But what sounds like logistical and geographical nightmare isn't. Despite frequent complications and the need for continuous therapeutic drug monitoring, the 2-year-old has rarely needed to travel farther than his local pediatrician's office for medical care. What makes this arrangement possible is a novel, decentralized care system called the Wisconsin HIV Primary Care Support Network. This fresh approach, and other treatment delivery innovations in Utah, Kansas and Idaho, are changing the face of health care for chronically and critically ill children in rural America.
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