For over 20 years, NCAP has been the community-based organization that has led the response to HIV and AIDS in Northern Colorado. The agency has evolved according to the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS, along with adapting to public policy and attitudes towards the disease.

NCAP is the only AIDS service organization in 16,000 square miles that provides comprehensive medical case management and prevention education/outreach services, including confidential HIV testing. We have developed an extensive network of collaborative and cooperative service providers throughout our vast geographic rural/frontier service area to ensure HIV/AIDS care and prevention remain in our local communities.

Since HIV/AIDS can go unnoticed for many years, the first step in intervention is testing for HIV. The sooner one knows that he or she is HIV-positive, the sooner it can be treated and the longer health can be prolonged.

 

In 1995, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the first protease-inhibitor drugs, which when combined with the already existing reverse-transcriptase inhibitors,  became known as highly active retroviral therapy (HAART). The combination of drugs works because they greatly reduce HIV’s ability to reproduce within the body, causing viral loads to drop significantly as long as the drugs are taken¹¹. Since HAART became the standard treatment for HIV/AIDS, death rates have dropped dramatically, and in 1997, AIDS was removed from the list of the top ten causes of death in the United States¹¹.

 

HAART is not a cure for HIV/AIDS, but it has given those living with HIV/AIDS the ability to extend their lives and their health for as long as possible. People living with HIV/AIDS can discuss with their doctor whether or not HAART is right for them.