“Merry Christmas!” Jeffery Stanley says whenever he walks into Avita Pharmacy’s Lafayette, Louisiana, location. Ten out of ten times, it’s not Christmas, but that’s not the point for the Avita patient of more than ten years. He means it as a symbol of religious reverence, of keeping what’s important to him in the picture. But it’s also poignantly apt because Christmas is often associated with a gift of redemption for humanity.
And Jeffery Stanley knows a lot about redemption.
Now 65, Jeffery acknowledges he made some poor choices in his teens. He ended up in prison, where in 1999, he discovered he was HIV positive. While he says that learning his HIV status was a good thing, he recalls that “In the beginning, it was difficult because of the taboo surrounding HIV in prison.” Things didn’t get easier after he served his time. “I was at the lowest of the low,” Jeffery says about his experience upon being released. “I lived on the street. I slept on the street. I wasn’t stable.”
“I was at the lowest of the low. I lived on the street. I slept on the street. I wasn't stable.”
A second chance at a life well-lived
Then Jeffery began receiving HIV treatment and other supportive services from Avita and its covered entity partner, Lafayette Clinic Foundation, and turned his life around. Lafayette Foundation Clinic (LFC) is a private cooperative of Louisiana-based medical providers specializing in the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic diseases. The group has dedicated itself to the treatment of HIV and is affiliated with the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM). His doctor there is “very educated and well-informed on the HIV diagnosis,” Jeffery says. “He also covers a lot of other health issues for me, like my diabetes.”
Avita Pharmacy partners with LFC to provide compassionate, comprehensive, and inclusive pharmacy services to patients from all walks of life, specializing in serving the community’s HIV prevention and treatment needs. Jeffery initially used Avita’s mail-order delivery service before he began picking up his medications. Now, he looks forward to personalized interactions with Avita Pharmacist-in-Charge Jericka Arienmughare. “They know how I feel about them; they do a good job,” he says. “As a matter of fact, she [Jericka] just called me and asked if I wanted my prescription to be delivered or if I would pick it up. I said, ‘Now, you know I’m coming in!’”
Jeffery does not let his HIV status stop him from enjoying life, says Jericka. “He has a joy that lights up the room for anyone he encounters, and he’s a key player in serving other individuals living with HIV,” she says.
Jericka says it’s a pleasure to serve Jeffery and other Avita patients, and an honor to earn their trust as they continue to age while living with HIV. “Serving our patients with compassionate care is at the core of what we do,” she reiterates. “We’re here to treat each patient with individualized care and offer them a place where they can be their true selves in a world that’s so cruel at times.”
Serving our patients with compassionate care is at the core of what we do. We’re here to treat each patient with individualized care and offer them a place where they can be their true selves in a world that's so cruel at times.
Leveraging his story to help others
Today, “I consider myself to be a productive member of society,” Jeffery says. As a recovery technician at a local community-based healthcare organization focused on those affected by HIV/AIDS, inequities in healthcare, substance use treatment, poverty, and homelessness, Jeffery lends counsel to others looking to pick up their lives and come to terms with their own HIV diagnoses.
“I tell them that HIV is not a death sentence,” he says. “It’s a part of their reality now, and they have to learn how to accept it.” Jeffery likes to point out that everyone is dealing with some kind of challenge in their life, and no one is perfect. “Nobody can blame anybody because everybody has got something,” he says. He reminds HIV-positive patients to “make sure you get yourself treated and try to keep it under control,” and lets them know that “there’s nothing wrong with being open-minded and sharing your diagnosis with other people if you’re comfortable with that. Or you can keep it to yourself.”
With an eye toward the future, Jeffery is considering returning to school to study medical coding and billing. “I like to stay busy,” says the lover of crossword puzzles and New Orleans bounce music, “and I think an old man can do that job. I’m not ready to lie down and retire yet.”
To others looking to pick up their lives and come to terms with their own HIV diagnoses, 'I tell them that HIV is not a death sentence. It's a part of their reality now, and they have to learn how to accept it.'
