| What is AIDS Research Information Center, Inc.? |
AIDS Research Information Center, Inc. (ARIC, Inc.) is a private, non-profit AIDS medical information service legally incorporated in Baltimore, Maryland in January, 1993. Over the last few years, ARIC has expanded into many exciting areas of public communications, including electronic publishing over the Internet, which we now use as our primary publishing medium. In spite of many challenges, ARIC’s volunteer staff and Board of Directors have always remained true to our primary mission, which is:
| “Patient Empowerment Through Information.” |
SERVICES
Our primary public outreach program is our AIDS Medical Information Service (AMIS), through which we operate a mail, E-mail, and telephone AIDS Medical Information HOTLINE where HIV+ volunteers answer specific HIV/AIDS treatment questions from People with HIV/AIDS and/or their care and service providers. We also offer pro bono and reduced-rate Publishing & Graphic Design Services to other non-profit AIDS groups; a gallery of examples of some of our published graphic work is available for on-line viewing at the ARIC, Inc. Homesite. Finally, we offer FREE web page design and publishing services to local AIDS non-profits through our FREE WEB Program, which allows area AIDS service groups that might otherwise not be able to use the vast networking potential of the Internet to do so quickly, easily, and without cost.
PUBLICATIONS
ARIC, Inc. publishes ARIC’s AIDS Medical Glossary, a 500 page AIDS medical reference in laymen’s language that has been our primary fundraising tool. Most of the materials in the Glossary’s appendixes are now posted and available at the ARIC, Inc. Homesite. This includes large amounts of high-quality information on AIDS medical treatment in our AIDS Library section, and contact information on the best private and public AIDS service and information groups in the nation in our extensive PWA Resource Guide section. Updated definitions from the Glossary proper are now a part of this AIDS Medical Encyclopedia website. ARIC also produces a quarterly newsletter targeted at AIDS service providers and informed and empowered patients, called The DIRT (on AIDS) ["D.I.R.T." is an acronym for "Direct Information on Research and Treatment"]. The DIRT is now published only in electronic (HTML) format, and is freely available for reading only on the ARIC, Inc. Homesite.