$7 Billion Needed for AIDS Patients in N.Y., Study Says

NEW YORK — Yorkers with AIDS and related illnesses will need $7 billion in health and social services over the next 4 1/2 years, a task force said Monday.

The New York City AIDS Task Force predicted that by the end of 1993, 4,990 acute-care hospital beds--one-fifth of the city’s total--will hold AIDS patients.

The money is needed to double the number of hospital beds, nursing home beds and housing units for AIDS patients, and to provide outpatient, long-term and home health care, said Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, task force chairman and city health commissioner.

The report also called for greatly expanded prevention programs, including AIDS education in all grades. It urged elimination of waiting lists for treatment of drug abusers, many of whom are exposed to AIDS by sharing needles. It also said that people with AIDS and related illnesses should be treated by community-based organizations, whenever possible, and that those organizations should get more money from the private and public sectors.

The 29-member task force includes government and private medical experts and representatives of business and AIDS support groups. Its recommendations are not binding, but the report will be used as a lobbying tool and a blueprint for public and nonprofit agencies, Joseph said.

As of June 30, 20,177 AIDS cases had been reported in New York City, 20% of the national total of 99,936 cases, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

By the end of 1993, the report said, the cumulative total in the city may reach 63,952 AIDS cases and perhaps 50,157 deaths.

The report said it appears that people with AIDS are surviving longer, partly because of earlier diagnosis and better treatment. Studies are urgently needed to predict their needs, it said.

Special services should be developed for teen-agers, a group among which the disease “is likely to increase silently but quickly in the years to come,” the report warned.

Leaders of minority groups were urged to heighten awareness of the disease in their communities. The mentally retarded and mentally ill also must be taught how to avoid the virus, the report said.