West Virginia University gets federal AIDS grant

West Virginia University has received a $450,000 federal grant to help treat low-income HIV/AIDS patients and those at risk for HIV infection. The grant, one of 27 nationwide totaling more than $10.9 million, came through the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act. The funds can be applied to counseling, testing, medical evaluation, clinical care, oral health care, nutritional counseling, outpatient mental health, and substance abuse services. Part of the grant will fund satellite clinics in Wheeling, Parkersburg, and Martinsburg, W.Va. "This grant means that hundreds more people in the service area--which includes northern and eastern West Virginia--will get tested, find out their HIV status, and learn how to protect themselves and others," said Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson in announcing the grant.