Connecticut State Department of Public Health

 

Event to honor the life and achievements of Janis Spurlock

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   Connecticut Department of Public Health

December 7, 2011                                           Contact: William Gerrish

                                                                        (860) 509-7270

 

 

Hartford – On Thursday, December 8th, AIDS Project Hartford will hold a celebratory event in recognition of World AIDS Day 2011 and in honor of HIV providers throughout Connecticut. The event will be held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Hartford from noon to 2 p.m.

 

The celebration will feature key note speaker Dazon Dixon Diallo, M.P.H. Ms. Dixon Diallo is founder and president of SisterLove, Inc., the first women’s HIV/AIDS organization in the southeastern United States. She currently chairs the Fulton County HIV/AIDS Services Planning Council (Ryan White Council) and the Steering Committee of the Global Campaign for Microbicides.

 

The event will also honor the life and achievements of Ms. Janis Spurlock, who recently passed away. Ms. Spurlock served as the HIV prevention program director at the Department of Public Health and championed HIV/AIDS prevention for many years.

 

Chris Andresen, chief of the Department of Public Health’s AIDS & Chronic Diseases Section will provide opening remarks.

 

The event will be held Thursday, December 8, 2011 from noon – 2 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 50 Morgan Street, Hartford. Media are invited to attend.

 

World AIDS Day 2011, formally recognized around the world on December 1, 2011, marked the 30th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS. World AIDS Day serves as a time to remember those we have lost to AIDS, and celebrate the progress made in combating this disease.

 

AIDS Project Hartford is a private, non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of all people in Connecticut who are impacted by HIV/AIDS. The event is also sponsored by Merck Pharmaceuticals and the Central Area Health Education Center.

 

For more information, please call 860-951-4833 ext 316.

 

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state.  To contact the department, please visit its website at www.ct.gov/dph  or call (860) 509-7270.

 

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