New York Times Examines Drug Treatment Facility’s Efforts To Handle Increasing Number of Patients With Hepatitis C

The New York Times on Saturday examined how the Bronx, N.Y., Palladia Starhill center, a residential drug treatment facility that also cares for people with HIV/AIDS and other health conditions, is dealing with a "new crisis" -- an increase in hepatitis C infections among patients. Of the 400 patients at the center, 20% to 25% have hepatitis C, compared with 30% who are HIV-positive. James Hollywood, senior director of Palladia Starhill, said, "It's one more thing for us to deal with and focus on. People come here to deal with their addictions, but they end up dealing with this serious medical issue as well." Palladia Starhill has been working with Project Samaritan Health Services to screen each patient for hepatitis C and enroll them in a treatment program. Marguerite Gebhardt, executive director of Project Samaritan, said, "It's been there all along, but it's been a silent problem. We realized that we were on the cusp of a brand new epidemic that was potentially larger than HIV" (Feuer, New York Times, 7/17).