HIV issues for rural hospitals in U.S. frontier areas

A Survey of 108 hospital administrators in the eight states of the Mountain Census Region was conducted to identify frontier rural hospitals' experiences (fewer than 50 beds) in the provision of care and services to patients with HIV infection; to assess the availability of HIV care and services in these small, remote rural hospitals; and to assess the status of education and policy development related to HIV infection. Of the 62 hospitals that responded, 16 (26%) had provided care and services to HIV-infected patients. Acute inpatient and emergency room care were the services most commonly utilized. An additional 11 hospitals reported the presence of HIV-positive individuals in their medical service areas. Thus, nearly 44 percent of the hospitals were aware of the importance of addressing HIV infection as a local concern. Employees in the hospitals that had experienced caring for HIV-positive persons expressed more concern about acquiring HIV infection than those in hospitals that had not. Four nursing assistants, two registered nurses, and one dietary worker had refused to provide care. HIV education consisted primarily of video programs, presentations by in-house staff, and sending employees away to workshops. Despite this HIV education, most staff remain fearful of caring for HIV infected patients. Major concerns expressed by the hospital administrators were related to enforcing universal precautions, confidentiality, staff response, community acceptance, and cost of care. Only 30 hospitals (48%) had AIDS policies in effect, and these focused primarily on infection control and universal precautions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)