UCSF Women's HIV program announces March 20 benefit in San Francisco

By Kristen Bole

Singer Tracy Chapman

Singer Tracy Chapman will be the featured performer at this year’s annual fundraising event to benefit the Women’s HIV Program at the University of California, San Francisco.

Titled “Grow to Be,” the event will take place on Tuesday, March 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rasselas Jazz Club, 1534 Fillmore Street in San Francisco. In addition to the entertainment, there will be a social reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres.

The Women’s HIV Program, known as WHP, is the principal care site for HIV-positive women in the Bay Area and now averages about 1,300 patient-visits each year. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support clinic operations, research, and patient services.

CBS-5 television newscaster Barbara Rogers will serve as the event host. During the evening, business leader Mark Pastore, who is a founding chair of the WHP Executive Committee, and patient advocate Mia McCarter will be honored for their significant contributions to improving HIV care for Bay Area women, children, and adolescents. 

For information or ticket information, call 415-476-1299 or visit the WHP website at http://whp.ucsf.edu. 

Established in 1993, WHP focuses on providing underserved HIV-positive women and their children with state-of-the-art, compassionate medical and psycho-social care in a single setting, according to Eddy Machtinger, MD, program director. It is the only clinic in the Bay Area that sees mothers and their HIV-positive children in the same setting.

WHP offers a “one-stop” option for addressing a broad range of issues by integrating primary care with HIV experts, gynecologic and reproductive care, social work, mental health, and addiction services. This comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach has been proven to improve health outcomes and is considered the model of care for positive women worldwide, Machtinger said.

UCSF is a leading university that advances health worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences and health professions, and providing complex patient care.