HIV Center for Women and Children

HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn

The borough of Brooklyn has been particularly hard hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic with nearly 25,000 residents cumulatively diagnosed with the disease. HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn has disproportionately affected women and children, thus SUNY Downstate Medical Center has been a pioneer in HIV/AIDS care and research for this population.

The HIV Center for Women and Children at SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Beginning in 1985 with one of the first research studies examining perinatal HIV transmission, The HIV Center for Women and Children has grown to a multi-disciplinary center currently serving more than 2,000 HIV infected men, women and children with nearly $15 million in annual extramural funding. The HIV Center for Women and Children is composed of investigators with academic appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Medicine and Psychiatry who employ more than 200 providers, researchers and support staff in a number of HIV-related programs. HIV Center activities are governed by an executive board consisting of the directors/principal investigators of multiple HIV-related projects at SUNY Downstate, Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC), and Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. Jack A. DeHovitz, MD, MPH, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Medicine, serves as director of both the STAR Program (described below) and the HIV Center. Both care and research take place primarily at University Hospital at Brooklyn (UHB), KCHC, and Brookdale Hospital, but community-based organizations and other Brooklyn hospitals are also sites for HIV-related activities sponsored by the HIV Center's investigators. The goals of The HIV Center for Women and Children are to integrate and expand the multidisciplinary efforts that exist within the HIV care and research programs.

Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program

The Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program is the umbrella organizational structure for an integrated HIV clinical, mental health, psychosocial, educational and research program at SUNY Downstate. The STAR Program is a multi-departmental effort comprising multiple projects within the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Medicine (Infectious Disease Division).  The mission of the STAR Program is to provide comprehensive and coordinated care, prevention services, research and clinical education to confront HIV and related health problems of urban communities in Brooklyn. 

STAR Health Center
At University Hospital of Brooklyn, outpatient medical care is provided to HIV-positive adults in the Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Health Center (SHC). The SHC is located in Suite J of the Outpatient Department of University Hospital, located at 470 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn. The SHC provides rapid HIV testing, medical examinations, prenatal care, patient education, hepatitis C screening and treatment, mental health services, nutritional counseling, substance use counseling, treatment adherence counseling, social work and psychiatry services, specialized domestic violence/trauma counseling for women, and family-centered case management.  Specialized gynecological care is given to HIV-positive women. The SHC’s treatment adherence services include:  adherence education; adherence counseling; group education sessions; adherence support groups; and same-day medication adherence focused medical visits.

For more information, please call:  (718) 270-3745