Consortium to Pass Out Bookmarks

In observance of World AIDS Day today, the San Fernando Valley HIV Consortium will distribute AIDS information bookmarks at Valley schools and businesses.

The bookmarks include Valley HIV test sites and information about AIDS Day, said Beverly Armstrong, spokeswoman for the nonprofit consortium and coordinator at the HIV care center at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills.

This is the 12th annual World AIDS Day, which is sponsored by the World Health Organization.

According to Armstrong, about 33.4 million people have HIV / AIDS worldwide; last year, about 2.5 million people died of AIDS-related causes around the globe.

Armstrong said 688,000 people were reported to have HIV / AIDS in the United States last year.

In another event, Kaiser will display 144 panels from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Each panel symbolizes one person who died of AIDS.

The quilt, on loan from the Ventura County NAMES Project, will hang from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of the medical center, 5601 De Soto Ave. Dr. Arleen Rockoff, an internist and infectious disease specialist, will speak at opening ceremonies at 10:30 a.m.

There will also be education materials about HIV / AIDS prevention, HIV testing, community resources and living with HIV.