Columbia doctor to serve on national council

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Ada Stewart, a Columbia area family doctor who specializes in HIV care, research and education, will serve on a national council for HIV/AIDS.

Stewart, an HIV specialist with Eau Clair Cooperative Health in Columbia, has been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, according to a news release from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Stewart “will provide clinical research and policy expertise to help develop recommendations on reducing the incidence of HIV infection, advancing HIV/AIDS research, improving health outcomes and ensuring people living with HIV” have access to care and will work to address “HIV-related health disparities” as part of her service on the council, according to the AAFP release.

Stewart was previously chief medical officer and HIV specialist at the Richland Community Health Care Association in Eastover and Columbia and spent 10 years caring for more than 500 HIV-positive patients. She holds degrees from Ohio Northern University and the Medical College of Ohio-Toledo. She completed her medical residency training at the Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia.

Stewart is on the AAFP board of directors and has worked with major national organizations to provide “free training, technical assistance and information on HIV to health departments, community-based organizations and healthcare organizations,” according to the release.

The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS “provides advice, information, and recommendations to (the administration) regarding programs, policies and research to promote effective treatment, prevention and cure of HIV disease and AIDS,” according to the council’s website.