Horizons Fall 2015

O nce a scourge that panicked the nation, AIDS, and the virus that causes it, have receded from the headlines and as an urgent topic of conversation. But although effective treat- ments now exist, the virus is far from vanquished. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV (human immunodefici- ency virus) and about 50,000 new infections occur each year. Florida has overtaken California as the state with the most new HIV infections—5,377 in 2013. Nearly 14,000 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2012. Noah Lee (D.O., 2002), one of a small number of Broward County physicians who specialize in treat- ing HIV-positive patients, is committed to helping change those grim statistics. “I love what I do. I am never going to change it unless there is a cure,” said Lee, who practices at Midland Medical Center in Oakland Park—within walking distance of Wilton Manors, the heart of Broward County’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The practice includes two other physicians who also are HIV specialists and a physician assistant who focuses on treating patients needing urgent care. They have about 7,000 patients—about 30 percent are HIV-positive—making theirs one of the largest HIV practices in the Southeast United States, Lee said. HIV isn’t the practice’s sole focus. The clinic provides primary care as well. For those patients who are HIV-positive, the benefit is that one physician is monitoring their overall health and all of their medications. “We do cater to the LGBT community, which allows these patients to be completely free and open and honest about their lifestyles so they don’t have to hide things from their practitioners, and that allows for better care,” he said. The medical center’s waiting room is welcoming. Patients can lounge on couches or sit at a dining room table to chat or read. A bulletin board on the wall lists community services that are available; bins collect donations of food for people and pets. Lee, 39, came to South Florida as a young boy. He gradu- ated from University of Miami before obtaining his medical degree from NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and completing his residency at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah. He is certified as a family practitioner as well as an HIV specialist. He also is a new father. Lee and his wife, Adrianna Ramirez-Lee, welcomed their son, Jasper, in May. His decision to specialize in HIV treatment came during his fourth year as a medical student. Lee was doing a rotation at the Central Florida Reception Center prison in Orlando when a Yale School of Medicine infectious diseases specialist arrived to teach prison physicians how to treat HIV. “I decided that is what I wanted to do with my life,” Lee said. The practice intrigued him because it is ever changing, requiring him to be knowledgeable about all areas of medicine to effectively treat HIV. He also relishes the chal- lenge that offers a rewarding opportunity to help people reclaim their lives. “His passion is HIV care and coming up with the best treatments for his patients,” said Patrick Kenney (D.O., 2008), Alumnus Is Committed to Treating HIV-Positive Patients BY MARY HLADKY ALUMNI PROFILE 12 NSU HORIZONS