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National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day March 10th

Approximately 30,000 Marylanders are living with HIV/AIDS; almost 40 percent of them are female according to Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH). That statistic stands in distressing contrast to national figures that show that about one in four Americans living with HIV are women. This data highlights the urgency for all Marylanders to consider the importance of HIV education and testing as Maryland observes National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

This year’s theme -“It’s time for women to get tested.” – is aimed at reversing the increasing numbers of women and girls with HIV.

“Awareness and testing can help reverse the heartbreaking increase of HIV infections among women and girls,” said John M. Colmers, DHMH Secretary. “Knowledge is power. The more women and girls who know their status and have the knowledge to protect themselves and others from HIV, the more power we have to eliminate HIV altogether. Healthy people mean healthy families and healthier communities.”

DHMH provides access to free confidential HIV testing, counseling, and referral services at over 400 sites across the state. These services are provided so that Marylanders can know their HIV status, understand the behavioral choices they need to make to stay negative, or how to access HIV care and treatment if needed.

According to the Centers to Disease Control and Prevention, every 35 minutes, a woman or girl tests positive for HIV in the United States. Most women in Maryland become infected with HIV through sexual contact and injection drug use.

“The vision of a Maryland with no new HIV infections is only possible if Marylanders get educated about HIV, get tested for HIV, and if they are positive, get into treatment for HIV,” said Heather Hauck, Director of DHMH’s Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration.

For more information about HIV/AIDS in Maryland, please visit http://eh.dhmh.md.gov/ideah/, or www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/about/ to learn about National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day events near you.

Tanning Legislation Named Top Skin Cancer Protection Initiative of 2009

The Howard County Health Department’s groundbreaking Tanning Legislation caught the attention of SunAWARE, a sun protection advocacy group based in Minnesota. SunAWARE named the Tanning Legislation the 2009 Best Initiative to Raise Public Awareness About Skin Cancer.

Mary Mills Barrow, Executive Director and founder of SunAWARE, a non-profit organization, endorsed by the Dermatology Nurses Association, the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation and The Melanoma International Foundation, revealed that to select “the top ten activities, we sought to pinpoint those that significantly raised public awareness about skin cancer and those which contributed in a real way to skin cancer prevention and detection.” She added “Our hope is that U.S. public health officials might consider adopting these initiatives to increase our safety in this country.”

The Howard County legislation approved in November by members of the Howard County Board of Health, is the first law in the nation to prohibit the use of tanning beds by anyone under the age of 18. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named skin cancer as the most common cancer in the United States and the most preventable. Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson says, "People under the age of 30 who are exposed to indoor tanning have a 75% increased risk of skin cancer and the younger you are exposed to indoor tanning the greater your risk of potentially fatal melanoma". The Tanning Legislation was enacted to prevent some of the 1,000,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year.

For more information about the Howard County legislation, visit our Tanning Legislation page found in our Environmental Health section.

Attention Howard County Tanning Facility Owners!

The Howard County Board of Health recently enacted comprehensive tanning facility regulations. These regulations establish the minimum health and sanitation requirements for the operation of tanning facilities located in Howard County, Maryland.

Owners of existing Howard County tanning facilities have until January 6, 2010 to register their establishments with the Health Officer and submit the required registration fees.

As of December 7, 2009, tanning facility owners must use certain forms and keep certain records to comply with the regulations.

Click here for more information: (Howard County Tanning Regulations)

County-Wide Health Forum Report

Click here to read the report from the December 2008 County-Wide Health Forum, held at request of the Obama Transition team.

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