tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89584157383206345552024-03-16T03:07:48.247-04:00Office of HIV PlanningSupporting community planning for HIV/AIDS services in the greater Philadelphia area.Office of HIV Planninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01196852048450213818noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-76389453509978206322018-02-14T10:12:00.000-05:002018-02-14T10:12:37.750-05:00The EMA Ryan White consumer survey results are here! <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a big deal.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Almost 400 people living with HIV told us about the services they use and the kinds of problems they had getting what they need. And lots of other things too. You’ll have to read the report to get all the details. But here’s a quick summary of what we learned and how we use this information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Good news and bad news (mostly good news)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">The region’s Ryan White clients are retained in care and virally suppressed. Almost everyone is getting the HIV medical care they need and are satisfied with the services they receive. Most people have insurance and a regular place for HIV care. They like and trust their doctors and case managers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Life is hard for many people living with HIV who are living in poverty. Inadequate and unreliable transportation, unaffordable co-pays and deductibles, a history of incarceration, and homelessness and lack of affordable housing are the most common challenges people reported. These challenges prevent them from getting the medical care and other services that they need. But more importantly, the challenge of living in poverty with complex health conditions is really stressful. People need help and support to live healthy and happy lives.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why the survey is important</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">We asked a lot of questions, which is why we have a 45+ page report. The report describes how we designed the survey, who responded, and what people told us. We also did advanced statistical analysis to see what kinds of patterns we could see from what people told us. We included other research and data about people living with HIV and their access to services in our EMA and in the United States to give us a better picture of how our EMA compares to other places.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">The Planning Council and AACO use the information from the survey to improve services and to better understand PLWH’s experiences and challenges. The Planning Council uses this information when they decide the EMA’s service priorities and how the EMA’s funds will be budgeted. AACO uses this information in the HRSA grant applications and in other reports. We have heard that HIV service providers use this information when they write grant proposals and in planning their programs. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We couldn’t have done it without you</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">This survey would not be possible without the support of Ryan White service providers. We send them our appreciation. But our biggest thanks are reserved for the individuals who shared their personal information and sometimes painful stories with us. We are grateful for your trust and vulnerability. We will use this information as best we can to continue to provide quality services to the people living with HIV in our EMA.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The full report is available <a href="http://hivphilly.org/data-and-statistics/consumer-survey/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></h4>
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Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-86386906038217059422017-10-10T14:30:00.000-04:002017-10-10T14:30:13.996-04:00ICYMI The Positive Committee newsletter is back!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Positive Committee launched the revamped newsletter in August. You can get your copy <u><a href="http://hivphilly.org/documents/newsletters/positivesummer2017.pdf" target="_blank">here</a></u>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inside you will find everything you need to know to be a member of the <a href="http://hivphilly.org/positive.html" target="_blank">Positive Committee </a>and to come to your first meeting of the <a href="http://hivphilly.org/RWPC.html" target="_blank">Planning Council</a> (the Philadelphia HIV Integrated Planning Council). In addition to all that handy information about community planning, you will also find resources for returning citizens and food resources like food banks and food vouchers. The Positive Committee decided to feature food and re-entry resources because of questions and experiences brought up at meetings over the summer. The newsletter’s purpose is to share information about the Planning Council and help people living with HIV get the resources they need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next issue of the newsletter will be out later this fall. If you have a question about HIV-related services or health that you think would be a good topic for the newsletter, send us an <a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org" target="_blank">email</a>. Or better yet, come to the next Positive Committee meeting. You can check out our meeting calendar <u><a href="http://hivphilly.org/calendar.html" target="_blank">here</a></u>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0340 N 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA39.9589102 -75.158808914.436875699999998 -116.4674029 65.4809447 -33.8502149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-82724276698223209862016-11-23T13:49:00.000-05:002016-12-01T10:56:36.389-05:00#HIVTalkBack - we're listening!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's survey time again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every 5 years or so, the Planning Council sends out a survey to our nine-county area's Ryan White clients. The survey asks questions about challenges getting medical care, HIV history, basic demographics, and what things people need but aren't getting. All of this information is used by both the Planning Council and the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO) to plan the HIV care and prevention services for the region. It's a big deal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our goal is to distribute 3000 surveys to individual clients, through the assistance of Ryan White providers. Asking providers to mail the surveys to clients is the best way to protect confidentiality and keep the surveys anonymous. The Office of HIV Planning provides everything providers need: surveys, envelopes, postage, and incentives for the individuals. The surveys get mailed back to the Office of HIV Planning in a postage paid envelope. We analyze the data in-house and keep everything secure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year we also have an online survey in both English and Spanish. We need your help getting the word out. We have designed flyers and social media messages - all you have to do is post them or share them. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our online survey is going to launch next week on World AIDS Day. </span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look out for our announcement via email and social media (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/HIVPhilly" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/hivphilly" target="_blank">Facebook</a>) at <b>#HIVTalkBack</b>. Please retweet, share, and forward to your friends and colleagues. We want to reach as many of our region's HIV+ people as possible. We can't do that without you.</span><br />
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Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-86970180248955222352016-06-06T11:09:00.000-04:002016-06-06T11:09:35.642-04:00Big Picture - April & May<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>This post is
part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White
Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To
view meeting materials and presentations, please visit <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/">www.hivphilly.org</a> or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly">SlideShare</a> account.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Spring has
been busy here at the Office of HIV Planning! We moved to our new office on the
3<sup>rd</sup> floor of the building, in Suite 320. With all the difficulty of
moving, we missed April’s Big Picture post, so we’ll cover both April and May
here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Finance Committee (May 12<sup>th</sup>)</u>:
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Philadelphia
EMA received a $162,000 increase in their Ryan White Part A funding this year. The
Finance Committee looked over and approved budgets for Philadelphia, the PA
suburban counties, and NJ. Because of <a href="http://hab.hrsa.gov/affordablecareact/service_category_pcn_16-02_final.pdf">HRSA Policy Clarification 16-02</a>,
the EMA’s emergency medication program cannot be funded the same way anymore. Money to support the program was moved from
the Local Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (LPAP) to Direct Emergency
Financial Assistance (DEFA). Representatives from the AIDS Activities
Coordinating Office (AACO) also requested that the Planning Council move $84,000
from LPAP to referral for healthcare and supportive services. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ryan White
Part A grant allocations meetings for the fiscal year 2017 will be held in
June. The Pennsylvania allocations meeting will be June 14<sup>th</sup>, Philadelphia
will be on June 16<sup>th</sup>, and NJ on June 21<sup>st</sup>. The meetings
will run from 1-4pm. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Needs Assessment Committee (April 11<sup>th</sup>)</u>:
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The results
of the Needs Assessment Committee’s transportation survey are in. Case managers
who responded to the survey talked about common issues with getting clients to
and from medical appointments. Logisticare and SEPTA tokens were mentioned in a
lot of the responses. The committee plans to look into issues with Logisticare
and will possibly write a transportation resource list for case managers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>New Member Orientation/Nominations
Committee (April 14<sup>th</sup> & May 19<sup>th</sup>)</u>: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Planning
Council welcomed 4 new members in April. They were invited to attend an
orientation, where they learned about their responsibilities as Planning
Council members. Debbie also gave an overview of the Ryan White Part A planning
process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In May, the
Nominations Committee looked over Planning Council attendance. They’ll follow
up with members who have attendance issues. They also reviewed the attendance policy.
Members who have 3 unexcused absences or miss 5 meetings in a calendar year may
be removed from the Planning Council. Anyone with a circumstance that keeps
them from coming to meetings (for instance, an illness) should contact the
office. Members should also try to arrive to meetings on time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Ryan White Planning Council (April 14<sup>th</sup>
& May 19<sup>th</sup>)</u>: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>April</i>: Evelyn
Torres and Sebastian Branca from AACO gave a presentation on AACO’s Client
Services Unit (CSU) at a joint meeting with the HIV Prevention Planning Group. The
CSU helps to get people with HIV into case management and other services. AACO’s
Health Information Helpline (1-800-985-2437) also provides information to
callers from 8am-6pm Monday through Friday. Sebastian talked about the ways
AACO follows up with HIV service organizations to see well they’re doing. AACO uses data to see which organizations need
help to improve their performance, and then helps organizations make plans for
how they’ll do better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>May</i>: The
Finance Committee presented the budget for this year’s Ryan White Part A grant.
The Planning Council voted to approve the budget, along with the grantee’s
request to move $84,000 from LPAP to referral for healthcare and supportive
services. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Positive Committee (May 9<sup>th</sup>)</u>:
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Antonio gave
the Positive Committee a presentation on the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
(YRBS). Philadelphia public high school students were asked about tobacco use,
alcohol and drug use, body weight and activity, sex, and violence. You can see
more information on Antonio’s slides <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/youth-risk-behavior-survey-presentation-antonio-boone">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Nicole told
the group about the OHP’s focus groups with high-risk heterosexuals. Participants
in the focus groups talked about their experiences with healthcare in
Philadelphia. You can read Nicole’s slides <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/focus-groups-with-heterosexuals-of-low-ses-key-findings">here</a>. Also check out her <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Reports/HRH.pdf">full report</a> along with her <a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2016/05/8-ways-to-improve-health-care-for-adult.html">recent blog post</a>, where she talks more about what she
learned from the focus groups.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Comp Planning (April 21<sup>st</sup>
& May 26<sup>th</sup>): <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<i>April</i>: Nicole
also gave her focus group presentation to the Comprehensive Planning Committee.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Comprehensive
Planning Committee looked over the Needs Assessment Committee’s transportation
survey results. They agreed to brainstorm and work together with Needs
Assessment on transportation issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The use of
opioid medications and heroin is a huge problem in Philadelphia. Overdose
deaths are on the rise. Hepatitis C rates among heroin users are also
skyrocketing. The Comprehensive Planning Committee
will continue to discuss the opioid epidemic at future meetings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>May</i>: The
Comprehensive Planning Committee has talked about a retention navigation
program, transportation, housing, and health insurance premium cost-sharing
over the last year. They asked AACO to look into a health insurance premium
cost-sharing program for the Philadelphia EMA. The Positive Committee will
address transportation at their next meeting. The Comprehensive Planning
Committee will bring up the retention navigation model at this month’s Finance
Committee and allocations meetings. The Planning Council will ultimately decide
whether to fund the program.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>HPG (April 27<sup>th</sup>):<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Kathleen
Brady, AACO’s medical director, gave her annual report on the HIV epidemic in
Philadelphia. The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/onap/nhas">National HIV/AIDS Strategy</a> and the <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/policies/care-continuum/">HIV Care Continuum</a> were an
important focus of her presentation. See <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/kathleen-brady-hiv-in-philadelphia-annual-epidemiological-presentation">Kathleen’s slides</a> for more information. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>We hope to see you all at June’s
allocations meetings!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in
this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html">calendar</a>,
or email <a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a>. If you have questions, you can also call us
at 215-574-6760.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-59773128174959312132016-05-25T15:40:00.002-04:002016-05-25T15:41:55.909-04:008 ways to improve health care for adult heterosexuals<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In November 2014, the Office of HIV Planning held focus groups with adult heterosexuals. The groups discussed the men’s and women’s experiences with health care, their ideal health care experience, and HIV testing in Philadelphia. The full analysis and recommendations can be found <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Reports/HRH.pdf">here</a>.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0YGZt00TCcw/V0X-QYI9HPI/AAAAAAAAJ3Y/ClZHahu6lwIk0rLZoZ9qwGPaAvwvHT7dgCLcB/s1600/Black%2Bwoman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0YGZt00TCcw/V0X-QYI9HPI/AAAAAAAAJ3Y/ClZHahu6lwIk0rLZoZ9qwGPaAvwvHT7dgCLcB/s320/Black%2Bwoman.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A low perception of HIV risk persists among heterosexuals in Philadelphia, despite the fact that there are almost equal numbers of heterosexuals living with HIV/AIDS (3,153) as men who have sex with men (3,140). However in recent years, diagnoses of HIV among heterosexuals have been decreasing in Philadelphia, from 316 in 2010 to 254 in 2014. Despite declining numbers of new infections in the overall heterosexual population, racial disparities among heterosexuals are stark. In 2014, there were 5,105 Black heterosexuals living with HIV/AIDS in Philly, 8 times as many as Whites (612) and 5 times as many as Hispanics (985). In 2014, there were 4,026 Black women living with HIV/AIDS, 7 times more than White women and 5 times more than Hispanic women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">According to the CDC, sexual risk among heterosexuals is quite common, including unprotected anal and vaginal intercourse and recent diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068868/">Many people have high-risk sex but do not recognize their own risk</a>. In Philadelphia, 82% of men in the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-HSSR_NHBS_HET_2013.pdf">National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System</a> sample had vaginal sex without a condom and 36% had anal sex without a condom in the previous year. For the women in the same sample, 86% had vaginal sex without a condom and 21% had anal sex without a condom in the previous year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Racial disparities in HIV infection rates are not due to behavior alone. Powerful social factors like poverty, gender inequality, racial segregation and discrimination, and gender norms drive the epidemic in African American and other minority communities. Geography and racial segregation matter because people tend to socialize with people similar to themselves. This is a major factor in how HIV is concentrated in certain geographic and cultural communities. When examined geographically, <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/2011GeoReport.pdf">areas with significant numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS are often areas with concentrated poverty and minority populations</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the major themes of the focus group discussions was how trauma impacts individual’s access to and comfort with medical care. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4837695/">Trauma is prevalent among many of the same communities that are most at risk for HIV</a> including those in this report: women of color, African American men, especially those who have experienced homelessness and incarceration. The effects of trauma on health are varied. Trauma may cause healthcare avoidance, particularly for survivors of intimate partner violence<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcop.20063/abstract">. Health exams can be invasive and trigger traumatic responses</a>, because of feeling a lack of control over one’s body. Evidence is growing that trauma negatively impacts immune function. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18541904">Trauma is associated with poorer metal health, substance abuse, ART adherence and immunologic outcomes</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The following recommendations are based on the experiences and opinions of the focus group participants as well as the current literature and epidemiological data in Philadelphia (see <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Reports/HRH.pdf">full report</a> for all references). These recommendations seek to address health disparities and decrease the number of new HIV cases in Philadelphia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">1. Trauma-informed care should be the standard of care. </span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Considering the pervasive experiences of trauma for men and women of low socio-economic status (childhood and adult), all healthcare settings should work towards a trauma-informed culture.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">2. Sexual and reproductive health care must be trauma-informed. </span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">All women should be screened for current intimate partner violence, as well as childhood and past sexual and emotional abuse. Appropriate referrals should be made for mental health and social support services.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">3. Honor and maintain a patient’s dignity in all care settings.</span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Patients who feel they are treated with dignity and are active participants in healthcare decision-making are more likely to adhere to treatment and trust their medical provider.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">4. Holistic care that includes services for mental and physical health is essential for long-term health and continued engagement in primary and HIV care.</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Social support should be integrated into all </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">health care</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> settings, whether through case management, navigation services or peer support. Service providers should consider incorporation of childcare and respite services in services targeted to women, considering their caregiving responsibilities.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">5. Continue and expand current efforts to make HIV testing routine in all primary care.</span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Efforts should ensure routine screenings are happening in communities where HIV is most prevalent. Routine testing doesn’t rely on patient disclosure or recognition of HIV risk behaviors and will increase the likelihood that individuals are diagnosed and linked to care in a timely matter.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">6. Include information about PrEP during pre- and/or post- test HIV counseling services.</span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Individuals who test HIV-negative </span><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/prepguidelines2014.pdf" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">(for whom PrEP is appropriate</a><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">) should receive information about where and how to access PrEP and provided with relevant referrals.</span></span></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cn0cEDoBR0k/V0X-Qcwmm1I/AAAAAAAAJ3c/YpSeomyo0CgHTSrNsrr_EmP6bZwOnvVPQCLcB/s1600/Black%2BMan%2Bwith%2BHeadphones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cn0cEDoBR0k/V0X-Qcwmm1I/AAAAAAAAJ3c/YpSeomyo0CgHTSrNsrr_EmP6bZwOnvVPQCLcB/s320/Black%2BMan%2Bwith%2BHeadphones.jpg" width="256" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">7. Community-level campaigns to raise awareness about HIV risk and prevention in the Black and Latino communities are needed</span></b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">. The campaigns should be broadly marketed to all members of the Black and Latino communities, not just to individuals of a certain risk profile or class. Local community leaders should be the messengers of the campaign.</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"> 8. Provide</span></b></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;"> adult health education in community settings to improve health literacy to decrease health disparities. </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Programs should include information about sexual health and HIV/STI prevention, hygiene, nutrition, sleep, and the importance of health screenings. Specific interventions should focus on the health needs of Black men. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-13147127123510284462016-04-11T10:11:00.002-04:002016-04-11T10:11:54.065-04:00Big Picture - March 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>This post is
part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White
Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To
view meeting materials and presentations, please visit <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/">www.hivphilly.org</a> or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly">SlideShare</a> account.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Finance Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HRSA’s
Policy Clarification 16-02 sets rules about what can be funded by Ryan White. The
clarification changes how the EMA can fund local AIDS pharmaceutical
assistance. It also means the EMA can now fund syringe access programs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Finance
Committee voted to approve a reallocation request from the AIDS Activities
Coordinating Office (AACO). AACO representatives asked that money be moved from
Medical Case Management to Information and Referral Services to support the
Health Information Helpline. They said the change would not affect case
management services.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Integrated Executive Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Co-Chairs of the Planning Council, HPG, and their committees met to discuss areas
where they can work together, including the Integrated Plan. They talked about
HIV stigma and HIV testing. They also agreed to invite a presenter on trauma-informed
care in the future. The Positive Committee will discuss Medicare/Medicaid and
peer support programs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Ryan White Planning Council</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Planning
Council approved the Finance Committee’s request to reallocate money from Case
Management to Information and Referral Services. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Positive Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
David
Griffith from the LGBT Elder Initiative discussed some upcoming events about
HIV and Aging. You can find more information on the <a href="http://www.lgbtei.org/">LGBTEI website</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Positive
Committee had a conversation about Medicare and Medicaid. They’re hoping to
bring in a speaker to talk about Medicaid in the future. They’ll also be
discussing Peer Support programs at their next meeting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u>Comp Planning<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Comp
Planning Committee looked through information about marketplace insurance
programs. They also reviewed data on insured and uninsured people living with
HIV and AIDS in Philadelphia. Updated insurance information will be available
soon. The Committee is going to continue discussing a Health Insurance Premium
Cost-Sharing program after they see more data. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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They also
finished their conversation on Housing as it affects health. Many people living
with HIV and AIDS in Philadelphia need housing and can’t get it. Increased
funding for housing may help shorten the waiting list for HIV/AIDS housing
programs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Needs Assessment Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Needs
Assessment Committee’s transportation survey got sent out to providers in early
March. The survey has received a lot of responses already. Some providers said
that they have issues with Logisticare. Some patients do not receive their day
passes on time, or their rides do not arrive on schedule. Some people also have
issues getting SEPTA tokens.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>HPG<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dr. Anne
Frankel from Temple University and Judith Peters from the Philadelphia School
Board came to talk about last year’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The
survey asks high school students about smoking; drinking and drug use; weight,
nutrition, and activity; sex; violence; and mental health. You can find slides
from their presentation <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/youth-risk-behavior-survey-2016-by-dr-anne-frankel">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u>Nominations Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The
Nominations Committee reviewed applications for Planning Council membership.
The Planning Council welcomes 4 new members! New Member Orientation will be
held April 14<sup>th</sup> from 11am-2pm. Current Planning Council members can
stop by orientation around 1pm to talk about their committees. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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<i>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in
this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html">calendar</a>,
or email <a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a>. If you have questions, you can also call us
at 215-574-6760.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-31262778850880417172016-03-30T15:11:00.001-04:002016-04-11T10:12:37.888-04:00Big Picture - February 2016<i>This
post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the
Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their
subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit
<a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/">www.hivphilly.org</a> or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly">SlideShare</a> account.</i><br />
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Finance Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Finance
Committee approved a request from the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office
(AACO) to move $33,000 in the PA suburban counties from Mental Health and
Transportation to Dental. This year’s Ryan White Part A grant award has not
been received yet. However, the Finance Committee approved a temporary level
funding budget. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Positive Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Positive
Committee watched a Vice Magazine documentary on PrEP. You can see it for
yourself <a href="http://www.vice.com/video/stopping-hiv-with-the-truvada-revolution-part-1-111">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Needs Assessment Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Needs
Assessment Committee did a test run of their transportation survey. It will be
distributed to providers in March. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Ryan White Planning Council</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
On behalf of
AACO, the Finance Committee asked the Planning Council to approve the $33,000
shift to Dental in the PA counties. They also presented the level funding
budget. The Planning Council voted to approve both. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Planning Council Social!</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The Planning
Council had their annual social after the February meeting. I hope everyone had
a great time. We ate snacks, gave out some door prizes, and got to know each
other better. Thanks to all the Planning Council members and guests who showed
up. Here’s a few pictures from the event, courtesy of Planning Council member
Ed Campbell.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBJa0XfUvTI/Vvwj8CKiDkI/AAAAAAAAAB8/SKbpj4CSKToDsMwjNlaiD15mM-X8Lim-A/s1600/OHP%2Bsocial%2Bpicture%2Bgents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBJa0XfUvTI/Vvwj8CKiDkI/AAAAAAAAAB8/SKbpj4CSKToDsMwjNlaiD15mM-X8Lim-A/s320/OHP%2Bsocial%2Bpicture%2Bgents.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E-1HJgap74Y/Vvwj8NLmIbI/AAAAAAAAAB4/IJBzdhIKbggNDLpd-vu96t8fuWmwmmNEw/s1600/OHP%2Bsocial%2Bpicture%2Bladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E-1HJgap74Y/Vvwj8NLmIbI/AAAAAAAAAB4/IJBzdhIKbggNDLpd-vu96t8fuWmwmmNEw/s320/OHP%2Bsocial%2Bpicture%2Bladies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Comp Planning<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HRSA
recently put out a Ryan White Policy Clarification. The document defines what
can and can’t be funded under Ryan White. You can read it <a href="http://hab.hrsa.gov/affordablecareact/service_category_pcn_16-02_final.pdf">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Comp
Planning Committee talked about 5 categories that will be affected by the
policy clarification: Local AIDS Pharmaceutical Assistance, Non-Medical Case
Management, Housing Assistance, Health Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing, and
Syringe Access. The committee is going to start working on a Health Insurance
Premium Cost-Sharing assistance program over the next few months. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>HPG<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nicole did a
<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/focus-groups-with-heterosexuals-of-low-ses-key-findings">report</a> on 2014’s focus groups for heterosexuals at high
risk of HIV. The participants talked about their positive and negative
experiences with health care. They also made recommendations for how health
care could be improved. Nicole will release a full report on the focus groups
in March.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antonio gave
a <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/prep-campaign-implementation-outside-of-philly">presentation</a> on PrEP. He went through PrEP campaigns
from across the country. The best PrEP marketing campaigns used pictures that
people could relate to. Their websites were simple and avoided listing too much
information.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The HPG did
an activity where they brainstormed their ideal service system. Some topics
they brought up were routine HIV testing, syringe exchange, and
decriminalization of drug use and sex work. The Ryan White Planning Council and
HPG Co-Chairs will talk about these topics at the Integrated Executive
Committee meeting later this month. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tiffany
Dominique talked about the recent Bench to Bus Stop Conference, held at the
Mutter Museum on January 26<sup>th</sup>. The conference promoted networking
and encouraged health department representatives and researchers to work
together on future projects.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in
this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html">calendar</a>, or email <a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a>.
If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-1550378772367430732016-02-01T11:50:00.000-05:002016-03-01T15:56:47.650-05:00Big Picture - January 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Happy 2016! This
post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the
Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their
subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit
<a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/">www.hivphilly.org</a> or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly">SlideShare</a> account.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Finance Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Chris Chu
from the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO) presented AACO’s quarterly
underspending report to the Finance Committee. The EMA has spent 14% less than
the Planning Council allocated for the past 9 months. Transportation in New
Jersey had particularly low spending.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
AACO
requested that they be allowed to use the underspent funds for other services,
like Food Bank and Medications. The Finance Committee approved the request. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Positive Committe</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Positive
Committee will be inviting representatives from the LGBT Elder Initiative
(LGBTEI) to their April meeting. They will discuss topics like mental health,
nutrition, and exercise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Briana gave
a presentation about the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) in Philadelphia. You
can read more about the NHAS <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/onap/nhas">here</a>.
The new NHAS targets gay and bisexual men, Black women and men, Latino men and
women, people who inject drugs, youth, and transgender women. These are the
groups most affected by HIV and AIDS in the US. The Office of HIV Planning
Epidemiologic Profile gives more information on all these groups in
Philadelphia. You can find <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/EpiProfile/2015Epi.pdf">the Epi Profile</a> on our website.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Needs Assessment Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Needs
Assessment Committee has been working on a transportation survey for the past
several months. They’re putting some finishing touches on the survey and will
be sending it out to local service providers soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Nominations Committee</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Nominations Committee is still looking for new Planning Council members. The
Planning Council needs members from hospital or health care planning agencies,
state Medicaid and Part B agencies, Part D grantees, Federally Recognized
Indian Tribes, and people co-infected with Hepatitis B or C. If you are anyone
you know is interested in applying to be a member, please <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/RWPCApplication2013.pdf">visit our website for an application</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Nominations Committee is hosting a Planning Council social after the meeting on
February 11<sup>th</sup>. Please bring your friends! There will be food,
activities, and a raffle for some awesome door prizes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>HPG/Planning Council combined meeting<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The HPG and
Planning Council combined their meetings this month. They had some guests talk
about HIV and Aging (Terri Clark from ActionAIDS, and Kate Clark and Katie
Young from the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging). Older people are too often
left out when we talk about sexual health and risk. Many people living with HIV
and AIDS in the US are over the age of 50. You can view the presentation <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/hiv-and-aging-in-philadelphia">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dr. Robert
Winn from the Mazzoni Center also came by to talk about their PrEP program. The
Mazzoni Center had 500 patients taking PrEP in 2015. They’re working hard to
get the word out about PrEP. They’ll be opening a free clinic at the Washington
West Project in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
AACO presented
their underspending report. The Planning Council voted to approve AACO’s
request to use underspent funds for other categories. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Comp Planning<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Comp
Planning Committee brainstormed their perfect HIV and AIDS service system. Some
things they’d like to see are needle exchange programs, comprehensive sex
education, and campaigns to reduce the stigma of HIV and AIDS. Co-chairs from
the RWPC and the HPG will meet at an Integrated Executive Committee meeting to
discuss these ideas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nicole gave
the group some handouts about structural interventions (you can <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Packets/RWPC/CPC/2016/01-21po.pdf">view meeting packets on our website</a>). Structural
interventions change the context in which people make choices about health
behaviors. Providing people with food and housing are structural interventions.
Many people living with HIV and AIDS in Philadelphia need housing, and there
isn’t much available. The Comp Planning Committee is going to continue
discussing this at their next meeting.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in
this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html">calendar</a>, or email <a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a>.
If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-60306422897165420562016-01-05T16:38:00.000-05:002016-01-05T16:42:32.540-05:00Big Picture - December 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">This post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> <em>or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SlideShare</a> account</em>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hello all!
Many of our committees didn’t meet this month given the upcoming holidays.
Here’s the latest from those that did.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Nominations Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Planning
Council currently needs members from hospital or health care planning agencies,
state Medicaid and Part B agencies, Part D grantees, Federally Recognized
Indian Tribes, and people co-infected with Hepatitis B or C. The Planning
Council is also seeking African American men from the Philadelphia and the PA
counties. Anyone interested in applying for the Planning Council <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/RWPCApplication2013.pdf" target="_blank">can print out an application from our website</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Nominations Committee will host a social at the office after the Planning
Council meeting on February 11<sup>th</sup>. Refreshments and entertainment
will be provided.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>RWPC</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antonio, our
newest staff member, presented on PrEP. He summarized what the HPG and Planning
Council have done about PrEP so far. The HPG and RWPC have heard several
presentations on PrEP in the last year. There are still problems with getting
PrEP to the people who need it most. For example, many people who need PrEP
don’t know it exists. Primary care doctors also need more training about
prescribing PrEP. The slides from Antonio’s presentation can be found <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/prep-the-road-thus-far" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>HPG<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Co-Chairs Jen
Chapman and Brad Shannon went to the National HIV Prevention Conference from
December 6<sup>th</sup>-9<sup>th</sup> in Atlanta. PrEP, patient navigation,
and transgender people were popular topics at the conference. There was a lot
of talk about the <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-update.pdf" target="_blank">National HIV/AIDS Strategy</a>.
The Federal Government released a <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-2020-community-action-plan.pdf" target="_blank">community action plan</a>.
The CDC also launched a <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/actagainstaids/campaigns/doingit/index.html" target="_blank">website about HIV testing</a> and an <a href="http://cdc.gov/hivrisk" target="_blank">online tool that people can use to estimate their HIV risk</a>. Jen’s slides can be found <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/national-hiv-prevention-conference" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antonio went
back over his PrEP presentation with the HPG. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
The January HPG and Planning Council meetings will be
combined (on January 14<sup>th</sup>). A doctor from a large PrEP program in
Philadelphia is going to give a presentation. The HPG will continue to work
with the RWPC on the Integrated Care and Prevention Plan, which will be
submitted next year. At the February HPG meeting, the group will start talking
about barriers to PrEP.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-318461374916799724" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 520px;">
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;"><em>calendar</em></a><em style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">, or email </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">info@hivphilly.org</a></span><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-3184613749167997242015-12-10T16:03:00.000-05:002016-01-05T16:43:10.629-05:00Big Picture - November 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Big Picture is back! This post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> <em>or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SlideShare</a> account</em>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Positive Committee<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Positive
Committee has been discussing transportation, along with their other healthcare
needs. This month they reviewed the results of a survey they filled out at
their last meeting. People who responded to the survey had few issues with
transportation. The problems they did report were related to scheduling, delays
with Medicaid transportation, tokens, and out of pocket costs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Positive
Committee also did an interactive survey about medical care. They used clickers
to answer questions about their satisfaction with doctors, clinical staff, and
case managers. They talked about what kept them from getting to medical
appointments or, on the other hand, what kept them in care.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Needs
Assessment Committee also reviewed the Positive Committee’s transportation
survey. They brainstormed ways to resolve transportation issues. They’ve
developed a transportation survey in their last few meetings, which they’ll be
sending to HIV service providers in the near future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Nominations Committee</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Nominations Committee discussed their agendas for the next year. Along with the
usual membership recruitment activities, application review, and attendance
review, they’ll host a Planning Council social on February 11<sup>th</sup>. The
social will be held at the OHP after the Planning Council meeting. A meeting
for all the subcommittee Co-Chairs is tentatively scheduled for June. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>HPG/Planning Council Combined Meeting</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dr. Helena
Kwakwa from the Health Department presented on the City Health Centers’ PrEP
program. She pointed out that people often underestimate their risk for HIV. However,
many people they surveyed were interested in PrEP. She said that doctors should
bring up PrEP during primary care appointments in order to reach more people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dr. Kwakwa
also reported on the Health Centers’ SHIPP (Sustainable Health Centers
Implementation PrEP Pilot) study. People on PrEP through the Health Center
program are asked if they want to participate in the study. A majority of participants
are regularly taking their PrEP medications (they are <i>adherent</i>). Most referrals for the program are coming from HIV
testers in the Health Centers. Many
people who are referred don’t end up going on PrEP. However, staff of the
program do all they can to get people who are interested to appointments so
they can get on PrEP. Dr. Kwakwa again recommended that primary care doctors
start talking to patients about PrEP.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Briana read
off the 4 major goals for the <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-update.pdf" target="_blank">National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) for 2015-2020</a>. The NHAS will guide the planning process over the next several years. The new
target groups for the NHAS are gay, bisexual, and other MSM of all races and
ethnicities, Black women and men, Latino men and women, people who inject
drugs, youth aged 13-24, people in the Southern US, and transgender women. The
Epi profile gives national and local statistics about HIV and AIDS for all
these groups. You can <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/EpiProfile/2015Epi.pdf" target="_blank">read the full Epi Profile on our website</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nicole
reviewed the <a href="http://hab.hrsa.gov/manageyourgrant/hivpreventionplan062015.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a> for the Integrated Care and Prevention Plan. The HPG and Planning Council are
going to work together on the Plan over the next year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Comp Planning</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
Comprehensive Planning Committee reviewed the Goals and Objectives they
developed in 2011 to prepare for the upcoming Integrated Care and Prevention
Plan. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em><br /></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;"><em>calendar</em></a><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, or email </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">info@hivphilly.org</a></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-10418961627663320452015-11-06T10:33:00.000-05:002016-01-05T16:43:38.985-05:00Big Picture - October 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Big Picture is back! This post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/" style="color: #888888; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> <em>or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/">SlideShare</a> account</em>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Finance Committee:</u></b>
The Finance Committee voted to allocate MAI (Minority AIDS Initiative) funds to
Case Management and Ambulatory/Outpatient Health programs that serve minorities
in Philadelphia. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Visitors
from the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO) presented their quarterly
spending report. After 6 months, this year’s Ryan White Grant is underspent by
about 9%. In other words, the EMA has spent 9% less than the Planning Council’s
total allocations for the year. Underspending is expected to decrease over the
next 6 months.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
David Gana
was elected as Finance Committee Co-Chair.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>New Member Orientation</u>: </b>5 new
members were invited to attend a RWPC orientation session on October 8<sup>th</sup>.
At orientation, they learned about the roles and responsibilities of Planning
Council members. They also got a rundown of <i>what</i> Ryan White is
and <i>how </i>the Planning Council plays a role in the HIV planning
process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Planning Council</u>:</b>
The Planning Council approved the MAI allocations presented by the Finance
Committee. They also heard AACO’s underspending report, as presented at the
Finance Committee meeting. The Planning Council approved the Retention
Navigation Model developed by the Comprehensive Planning Committee, which is
designed to keep people in medical care (see <a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2015/10/big-picture-september-2015.html" target="_blank">last month’s big picture post</a> for more). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tre
Alexander was re-elected for a 2 year term as Planning Council Co-Chair.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Briana
Morgan gave a brief overview of the OHP Epidemiologic Profile. You can find the
<a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/EpiProfile/2015Epi.pdf" target="_blank">Epi Profile</a>, and an <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Documents/EpiProfile/2015EpiExecSumm.pdf" target="_blank">Executive Summary</a>, on our website. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Comp Planning</u><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The
Comprehensive Planning Committee reviewed the guidance (instructions) for the
next Integrated Care and Prevention Plan. The plan will describe the HIV
epidemic in Philadelphia, what we’re doing about it, and our goals for the
future. The Planning Council and HPG will be working together on the Integrated
Plan throughout the next year.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Positive Committee</u>: </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The Positive
Committee elected Nancy Santiago as their new Co-Chair. Nancy leads a group
called Huracán, which has brought Spanish-speakers to the last several Positive
Committee meetings. Nancy hopes to represent the Latino community in
Philadelphia.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The group
brainstormed topics for future meetings. Some participants suggested HIV and
aging, transportation, homelessness, and stress reduction, among other topics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nicole
distributed a survey about transportation. The Planning Council is currently
looking into issues that people are having with transportation so that these
issues can be remedied in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u>Needs Assessment</u>: </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The Needs
Assessment Committee reviewed a transportation survey they’ve been developing
for providers. The survey will be distributed in the coming months. Together,
the surveys of providers and consumers will allow the Planning Council to
address common issues with transportation.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><u>HPG</u>: </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">The HPG
continued talking about PrEP and its future in Philadelphia. Co-Chair Jen
Chapman spoke about a recent journal article published in Current Opinion on
HIV and AIDS (abstract <a href="http://journals.lww.com/co-hivandaids/Abstract/publishahead/The_role_of_healthcare_providers_in_the_roll_out.99511.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>)</span><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">.
The article covers the role of healthcare providers in introducing PrEP into
the community. It describes the way specialists (Infectious Disease/HIV
doctors) and primary care physicians can help get PrEP to more people.
Promoting PrEP to doctors and educating them is key to getting PrEP rolled out
in places like Philadelphia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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Two young
men who take PrEP visited the HPG to talk about their experiences. They
described the process they went through to get on PrEP. They also brought up
problems they’ve had with getting their medication. The young men said they’d
gotten both positive and negative responses from friends, and they’d come
across others who don’t know what PrEP is. The group wrapped up by discussing
how the Health Department will market PrEP to people in Philadelphia. </div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em><br /></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;"><em>calendar</em></a><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, or email </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">info@hivphilly.org</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em><br />
<div>
<em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></em></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-28642710507122452512015-10-14T16:01:00.001-04:002016-01-05T16:43:48.938-05:00Big Picture - September 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Big Picture is back! This post is part of a monthly series that summarizes what's been going on in the Ryan White Planning Council, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and their subcommittees. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;"><em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> <em>or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/HIVPhilly/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SlideShare</a> account</em>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>Nominations</u></b>: The Nominations
Committee approved 15 applications, including 5 new members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>RWPC</u></b>: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Coleman
Terrell, Director of the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO), reported
on the MAI and the CoRECT program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">MAI<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) is a
federal program designed to meet the needs of minority individuals living with
HIV and AIDS. The Philadelphia EMA currently receives around $2 million in MAI
funding. This funds several Medical Case Management and Ambulatory (Outpatient)
Health programs that serve minorities. AACO requested that funding for these
programs continue at the same level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">CoRECT<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Co-operative RE-engagement
Controlled Trial (CoRECT) is a project funded by the CDC through 2019. The
program gets (links) and keeps (retains) people with HIV in care. The program
targets patients who have never attended or who have stopped attending
appointments. Health Department staff meet face-to-face with these patients to
help them get in care. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">NHAS<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) aims
to reduce the impact of HIV nationwide. It encourages a wide variety of
governmental bodies and organizations to work together toward common goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first NHAS began in 2010, around
the same time that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced, and ran for 5
years. The updated <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-update.pdf">NHAS for 2015-2020</a> came out in August.
Several changes have been made in the new NHAS; you can read about a few of
them on this <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-update-5-things.pdf">fact sheet</a>. Here’s <a href="https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/nhas-update-what-you-need-to-know.pdf">another infographic </a>that reviews some key
points about the update<span class="MsoHyperlink">. </span><span class="MsoHyperlink">We’ll post more about the NHAS in the
future.</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Positive<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">AACO’s
Evelyn Torres presented on the Direct Emergency Financial Assistance program
(DEFA), and Gary Tumolo of Philadelphia’s Office of Housing and Community
Development (OHCD) presented on housing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">DEFA<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Direct Emergency Financial
Assistance program offers emergency food, rent, utilities, transportation, and
short-term medication assistance for people living with HIV and AIDS. You can
read more about the DEFA program in <a href="http://www.phmc.org/site/pdf/EA/DEFA_Program-Guide_2014.pdf">this guide</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Housing<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">HOPWA is a national program providing
housing for people with HIV and AIDS. In Philadelphia, 340 households are on
the HOPWA waiting list, with an average wait time of 7 years. (People with AIDS
who are street homeless wait about 1 year.) The Section 8 waiting list is
closed. <a href="https://projecthome.org/">Project HOME</a> is one alternative housing program. The <a href="http://www.phfa.org/">PHFA website</a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> also lists some housing programs for seniors
and people with disabilities, along with other affordable housing options.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Co-Chair Nominations<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dave Gana has reached the end of his
two-year term as Positive Committee Co-Chair, so it’s time for the committee to
elect a new Co-Chair. Several participants were nominated, and each nominee
will give a short speech at the October Positive Committee meeting. Stay tuned
for election results!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Needs Assessment<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Needs
Assessment Committee reviewed the results of a recent provider survey on AACO’s
local pharmaceutical program. They also created a transportation survey for
providers, based on a request from the allocations meetings. Results of the
survey will be available at next month’s meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Comp Planning<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Evelyn
Torres shared further information about AACO’s linkage to care activities in
Philadelphia with the Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC). Philadelphia
recently received a few CDC grants, which will fund general prevention efforts,
patient navigation, and PrEP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Based on
previous conversations, Nicole Johns introduced a plan for a retention navigation
model, designed to keep patients in medical care. The pilot program would occur
at one-stop-shop medical clinics in the Philadelphia area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">HPG<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">PrEP<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The HPG has been doing a lot of work
around PrEP, a promising new method for preventing HIV transmission. PrEP has
not yet been fully implemented in the Philadelphia area. The HPG hopes to help
change that! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dr. Helena Kwakwa of the City Health
Center’s PrEP program gave the HPG some information about the program, which offers
PrEP at all 8 of the city’s Health Centers. The program currently prescribes
PrEP to 80 HIV-negative individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The HPG is inviting young men with
experience taking PrEP to their October HPG meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Integrated
Plan Guidance<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The HPG discussed the federal
government’s guidance for the Integrated Care and Prevention Plan, due in 2016.
The plan will describe what Philadelphia has done and plans to do to address
the HIV epidemic in our area. The HPG will hold several joint meetings with the
Planning Council to prepare for the plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>General</u></b>: We would like to
welcome our newest staff member, Antonio Boone. Antonio has a background in
prevention education. He has worked with St. Christopher’s Hospital,
Philadelphia FIGHT, and the Drexel University SWEAT program. Antonio will be
working as a Health Planner, specializing in PrEP and other areas of HIV
prevention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><em>Want to get involved? To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="color: #888888; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;"><em>calendar</em></a><em style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, or email </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">info@hivphilly.org</a></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em><br />
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<o:p></o:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-40476026873332291532015-06-30T16:25:00.002-04:002015-06-30T16:25:54.856-04:008 ways to improve health care for young gay and bi men<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In June 2014, the Office of HIV Planning held focus groups with young men who have sex with men (YMSM) at three local organizations serving LGBTQ youth and young adults. The groups discussed the young men's experiences with health care, their ideal health care experience, and HIV testing in Philadelphia. The full analysis and recommendations can be found <a href="http://hivphilly.org/Reports/YMSM.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZmOS6m546E/VW9YZu2wE2I/AAAAAAAAGus/mVrUgbXg5JM/s1600/Three%2BYoung%2BMen%2BGreen%2BBackground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZmOS6m546E/VW9YZu2wE2I/AAAAAAAAGus/mVrUgbXg5JM/s400/Three%2BYoung%2BMen%2BGreen%2BBackground.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In order to decrease new cases of HIV and AIDS, we need to successfully engage young gay and bi men in primary care and address the fundamental social conditions contributing to their increased risk for HIV. Between 2006 and 2009, there was an estimated 54.5% increase in new infections among gay and bi men in Philadelphia. This increase was driven by new infections among African American men who have sex with men between the ages of 13-24. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738434/" target="_blank">A paper by Stall et. al in 2009 </a> estimated that if current trends continued half of the young black gay and bi men will have HIV by the age of 35. They also estimated that half of all men who have sex with men (MSM) would be HIV-positive by the age of 50. These numbers are dire. We must do a better job at meeting the medical and social needs of young gay and bi men. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following recommendations range from large systemic changes to improving interpersonal exchanges within health care settings. These recommendations are informed by both the analysis of the focus group discussions and the current literature (<a href="http://hivphilly.org/Reports/YMSM.pdf" target="_blank">see report </a>for a full list of the cited research). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Increasing
access to and engagement with primary care for YMSM is essential. </span></b>Engagement
in primary care is an especially important tool in the HIV prevention “toolbox”
in this age of biomedical interventions like <a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-science-prep.html" target="_blank">pre-exposure prophylaxis </a>and
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prevention/research/tap/" target="_blank">“treatment as prevention”</a>. HIV-negative YMSM should be linked to appropriate
interventions and have regular sexual health screenings. YMSM who are regularly
tested and engaged in health care will have a better chance of being linked to
HIV care and treatment, should they acquire HIV. Programs that engage YMSM in
health care should address their complex needs, including mental health,
substance use, chronic health conditions, and social needs, in developmentally
appropriate ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">A
combination of routine testing in all primary care settings and targeted
community-based testing is necessary.</span></b> Risk-based testing alone may
miss high-risk <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18625927" target="_blank">individuals who are reluctant to disclose same-sex attraction</a> and/or their sexual behaviors or substance use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Comprehensive
evidence-based sexual health education, inclusive of all gender identities and
sexual orientations, is needed in the Philadelphia school district.</span></b>
Young people need sexual health education that promotes not only their health
but their well-being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">HIV
testing protocols should address concerns about confidentiality.</span></b> HIV
testing programs ought to consider who provides the counselling and testing,
where testing occurs, and how to address concerns about confidentiality and
privacy. It may be beneficial to include information about privacy protections
and confidential testing protocols in outreach and marketing materials, in
order to address those concerns before they can become barriers to testing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Special
attention should be paid to creating welcoming and accepting organizational
cultures. </span></b>Health care organizations need to prioritize the barriers,
challenges and concerns of YMSM. YMSM want to go to providers who can relate to
their experiences and accept them as they are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Relevant
information about local services, sexual health, and HIV/STD testing should be
online in the places YMSM are likely to find it.</span></b> Reliable online
content will help many YMSM, especially those who are reluctant or unable to
access services in the “gay” community. More local research is needed to better
understand how Philadelphia’s youth access online health information. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Community
level efforts are needed to address HIV stigma and discrimination of LGBTQ
individuals</span></b>, which persist and act as a barrier to open
communication about the sexual health needs of YMSM. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Public
health programs and health care organizations must be sensitive to the effects
of stigma and discrimination on YMSM</span></b>; <a href="http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/exchange/2012/04/discrimination-homophobia.aspx" target="_blank">especially minority YMSM </a>who
face not only stigma because of their sexuality and/or gender expression, but
also live in a society with pervasive structural racism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Please share your ideas, insights and opinions about the recommendations and how we can better meet the needs of young gay and bi men in Philadelphia.</i></span></div>
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Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-20410760781340765832015-02-23T14:19:00.000-05:002015-02-23T14:20:17.706-05:00Now Recruiting for Healthcare Discussions <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One of the roles of the
Office of HIV Planning is to conduct local research to help determine the needs
of the community; we call these studies "needs assessments".
The 2012 Ryan White Consumer Survey and the 2011 Geographic Risk Analysis
are two of our past needs assessments. You can find past needs assessments and
other local data on our </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://hivphilly.org/documents.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 13.5pt;">Documents</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Currently, we are
working on a study for the <a href="http://hivphilly.org/HPG.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Philadelphia HIV Prevention Planning
Group (HPG)</span></a> on healthcare experiences and HIV testing
preferences of seven at-risk populations. The purpose of this study is to
assess the individual-level, provider-level and system-level barriers to care
experienced by the most at-risk populations; in order to better understand how
these barriers affect at-risk individuals’ use of healthcare and HIV testing
and prevention services. The study findings will inform the Philadelphia
Department of Public Health’s planning and delivery of HIV prevention, testing,
and treatment services.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0uihSWYZa14/VOt8E5i4xpI/AAAAAAAAALk/68_e99kn9vY/s1600/Latino%2BMSM%2BFlier.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0uihSWYZa14/VOt8E5i4xpI/AAAAAAAAALk/68_e99kn9vY/s1600/Latino%2BMSM%2BFlier.png" height="307" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We are holding
one-time discussion groups (focus groups) with Philadelphians who identify as a
member of one of the following groups:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Young men who have sex with men (18-29)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">High risk heterosexuals (30-60)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Black and Latino Men who have sex with men (30-60)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">High risk youth (18-29)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sexually active seniors (55+)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Intravenous drug users (18+)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18px;">So far we have completed focus groups with young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and high risk heterosexuals in 2014. Blog posts will be posted when the YMSM and high risk heterosexual reports are up on the Documents page. The results from the YMSM discussions have been shared with the Ryan White Planning Council and the HPG, as well as various subcommittees. The analysis of the high risk heterosexual groups is underway and results will be shared with the community planning groups as soon as possible.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TEsGRBxiLU/VOt8I_yEpfI/AAAAAAAAALs/ru9V_BibOpU/s1600/Black%2BMSM%2BFlier.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TEsGRBxiLU/VOt8I_yEpfI/AAAAAAAAALs/ru9V_BibOpU/s1600/Black%2BMSM%2BFlier.png" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We are now recruiting
black and Latino gay and bi men for focus groups in March and April 2015.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <b>If you or anyone you know is interested
in participating, please contact Nicole at 215-574-6760 ext. 108. </b>Participants receive a meal, tokens and a small thank you gift. Discussions take around one and a half hours (90 minutes). If an organization wants to have fliers to post or distribute, please contact Nicole. Any assistance in recruitment is greatly appreciated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At this time we are only
recruiting men who are proficient in English. We are in discussion with
community partners to develop a Spanish-language needs assessment to collect
the barriers and experiences of Spanish-speaking Philadelphians at high-risk for
HIV. Stay tuned for more information about that project.</span></div>
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Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-49135818162212174732014-05-22T13:50:00.000-04:002014-05-22T13:53:26.020-04:00Linking Clients to Care: A New Tool<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's a common enough story: someone is diagnosed with HIV. That person is told she needs to visit the doctor as soon as possible. Maybe that person calls for an appointment, and maybe she doesn't - but that person doesn't make it to the doctor that week. Or that month. It could be a child care problem, or a transportation problem, or an appointment availability problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But in some cases, it's just that people who were just diagnosed with HIV don't know that there is a system of care available to them -- even if they can't pay for services. In 2010, </span><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/brianalmorgan/2014-epidemiological-update-by-dr-kathleen-brady" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">18% of newly-diagnosed Philadelphians with HIV weren't linked to care within 90 days</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. We don't know each person's reasons for not getting medical care right away, but lack of knowledge of the care system is an obvious barrier for newly-diagnosed clients. In fact, through our local needs assessments, we've repeatedly found that many people living with HIV/AIDS report not accessing medical care because they couldn't afford it. We're lucky enough to have a comprehensive system of services available through Ryan White, but newly-diagnosed clients won't know about it if no one tells them it's there.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--dK0kekriG0/U34vSEWoDOI/AAAAAAAAAJg/70gqWTZ4yxI/s1600/Linkage+to+Care+Tool+-+Final+Design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--dK0kekriG0/U34vSEWoDOI/AAAAAAAAAJg/70gqWTZ4yxI/s1600/Linkage+to+Care+Tool+-+Final+Design.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's a preview. Download a copy </span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/documents/linkagetool.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the same time, we know that it's not always easy for HIV testers to give
consistent messaging while getting important information from their clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Enter, our new linkage to care tool. We hope that this tool will relieve some of the burden on HIV testers, increase access to care and other services for newly-diagnosed people with HIV, and improve linkage to care performance for our local provider sites.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We developed this tool after an extensive review of
treatment readiness assessments in use across the country, and reduced the questions to the most relevant
ones for helping clients with their initial linkage to care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
developed in partnership with the <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/Points%20of%20Integration.html" target="_blank">Points of Integration Workgroup</a>,
which spent a great deal of time honing both the language and the questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tool was then presented to both the
<a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/RWPC.html" target="_blank">Philadelphia EMA Ryan White Part A Planning Council</a> and the <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/HPG.html" target="_blank">Philadelphia HIV Prevention Planning Group</a> for additional feedback and adjustments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We would like to note that we developed this tool as an aid
for providers, and we designed it to help individual HIV testers improve access
to services for their clients (and, by extension, to improve their own
performance).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This tool was not designed for data collection.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Testers </span>might decide to make copies and use a
separate form for each client, in order to provide an “at a glance” summary of
what is most needed to make that first linkage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They might use pieces of this tool as a supplement to their own
routines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They might keep a copy with them
to use as a discussion guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How they
use the tool is up to them, but we do hope that it proves useful in their day-to-day
work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Of course, like all of our documents, this is free to distribute and reproduce. We made it in black and white to be copier-friendly. We also included fainter lines in the notes section, allowing the neater testers among us to write along the lines and the more out-of-the-box testers to write willy-nilly in whatever direction they choose. We wanted this to be as user-friendly as possible. In that spirit, we welcome feedback and suggestions. Feel free to comment here, or use the contact information on the form to get in touch.</span><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/documents/linkagetool.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Download the linkage to care tool here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> - and share widely!</span><br />
</div>
Briana Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603275847962486418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-81240485348081976172014-02-27T16:14:00.000-05:002014-02-27T16:14:53.190-05:00Quick Notes from the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership meeting<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Office of HIV Planning is a member of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP), a coalition of organizations from all over the country that advocate for people living with HIV and the organizations that serve them. You can learn more about FAPP and how to become a member organization <a href="http://federalaidspolicy.org/" target="_blank">here</a>. Individuals living with HIV are also encouraged to join. The group meets about four times a year, our last meeting was on February 12th. At that meeting we had some informative discussions with<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/leaders/mermin.htm" target="_blank"> Dr. Jonathan Mermin</a>, <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.96px;">Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and <a href="http://blog.aids.gov/2013/07/cheever-named-leader-of-hrsas-hivaids-bureau.html" target="_blank">Dr. Laura Cheever</a>, Associate Administrator for HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau. We also discussed updates on implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the reauthorization fo the Ryan White Program.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 15.96px;">Dr. Mermin's presentation is well worth your time to review (slides <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbfajtdej4i9uj7/Mermin%20-%20FAPP%202014.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>). He shared information on HIV prevention funding, national progress on the <a href="http://aids.gov/federal-resources/national-hiv-aids-strategy/overview/" target="_blank">National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS)</a>, and how the CDC is addressing HIV prevention in terms of the care continuum. A few things really stuck with me. When talking about new HIV cases, Dr. Mermin mentioned that although incidence has been stable over all, there have been increases in the number of new HIV cases for men who have sex with men and young men who have sex with men, 12% and 22%, respectively. The CDC and it's partners are focusing on<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/hivfactsheets/future/high-impact-prevention.htm" target="_blank"> High Impact Prevention</a>, as the future of HIV prevention. The keys to High Impact Prevention are aligning HIV prevention resources to the geographical areas and populations most affected by HIV, using cost-effective and evidence-based methods, maximizing the number of people living with HIV/AIDS with a suppressed viral load, and using data monitoring, dissemination and feedback to improve outcomes for organizations and jurisdictions.The CDC is also working closely with HRSA to align as much of the HIV care and prevention activities as possible; including community planning, data reporting, and policies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.96px;">A major topic of discussion with Dr. Cheever was the future of the Ryan White program, in the era of health reform (ACA). Much of the conversation was informed by the discussion at the Ryan White Working Group meeting (the day before). That discussion focused mostly on when and how to advocate for the reauthorization of the law, and what it might include. Consensus from that discussion was it would be best for the community to wait until 2015 to push for reauthorization because so much is still unknown about how Ryan White programs will work in the context of expanded health coverage and other reforms of the ACA. The community of Ryan White providers and consumers need to collect stories of the successes of the program from the local levels: who is served, how their lives are improved, and what benefits and outcomes do we see on an aggregate level. There was also consensus that the next version of the Ryan White law will be transformative, in other words, it will include a lot of changes to how the program works, what services are provided and who is eligible.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.96px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 15.96px;">Dr. Cheever also recommended that we need to focus our efforts to help people start and stay in HIV care. The local communities need to provide qualitative data (stories) about how and why people get lost and also linked to care. These qualitative data can work with the quantitative data (surveillance, program data) to develop effective plans for our HIV care systems, including Ryan White. Local communities, like the Philadelphia EMA, should focus on those who need the most help accessing and maintaining care and provide the supports they need. Those supports might include housing, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, child care, transportation or social support. The Ryan White program has the ability to meet these needs, but we have to direct resources to where they are most needed. We need to adapt the Ryan White system to work with the larger health care systems, not apart from them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.96px;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 15.96px;">If I come away from these two meetings with any theme, it's "adapt or perish". We all need to become knowledgeable about the ACA and other changes in the science and policy world of HIV/AIDS. We have, as always, to do more with less. So we have to be informed, proactive, and deliberate.</span></span></div>
Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0Philadelphia, PA, USA39.952335 -75.16378900000000839.563109499999996 -75.809236000000013 40.3415605 -74.518342tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-66028157596256972052014-01-30T17:15:00.000-05:002014-01-30T17:15:47.188-05:00Reducing Risk of HIV Infection for YMSM in Philly <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">YMSM stands
for young men who have sex with men. According to CDC (Center for Disease
Control and Prevention) research, MSM account for the largest number of
infections when compared to other risk groups and YMSM are particularly
vulnerable. The following is a short list of strategies YMSM can use to reduce
their risk of contracting HIV and find support in the Philly LGBT community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1.)<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Get Tested!</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LnJTpkvivE4/UurC06DVM1I/AAAAAAAAAAU/FUbdcSDRTv4/s1600/testing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LnJTpkvivE4/UurC06DVM1I/AAAAAAAAAAU/FUbdcSDRTv4/s1600/testing.jpg" height="123" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You cannot tell by looking at a person whether they
have HIV. To reduce your risk of acquiring HIV, you should know your status and
that of your partner. The three things you should ask potential sex partners
are: “Have you been tested for HIV? When was the last time you had an HIV test?
What were the results of your HIV test?” In Philadelphia, many organizations
provide HIV testing for free and accept walk-ins. They are anonymous and no
appointment is necessary!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are a few organizations:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>* The Mazzoni Center:</b> Philly’s LGBT health and wellness center.
They offer free HIV testing, as well as testing for other STI's. All testing is
anonymous and confidential and takes place at their Washington West (1201 Locust
St.) location. <u>Hours</u><u>:</u> Monday-Friday,
9:00a.m.-9:00p.m. <u>Phone:</u>
215-563-0658</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">* <b>ActionAIDS</b>:
ActionAIDS offers free and confidential HIV testing. Their 20-minute rapid test
needs no appointment. Walk-in hours for the 1026 Arch St. location are Monday:
11:00a.m.-1:00p.m., Tuesday 10:00a.m.-12:00p.m., Wednesday 1:00p.m.-4:00p.m.,
Thursday 12:00a.m.-2:00p.m. and Friday by appointment only.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In addition, the CDC has a handy testing locator
where you can search for testing sites by zip code!</span></div>
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<a href="http://hivtest.cdc.gov/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Find a Testing Site Near You</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2.)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Use Condoms!</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPhZHWQwdsU/UurEE68BFVI/AAAAAAAAAAg/y-d0Gs-kkgI/s1600/condoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPhZHWQwdsU/UurEE68BFVI/AAAAAAAAAAg/y-d0Gs-kkgI/s1600/condoms.jpg" height="120" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">According to the CDC, a latex condom used consistently
and correctly is very effective at preventing HIV infection. The Office of HIV
Planning provides free packages with condoms and lube! We are located at 340 N.
12<sup>th</sup> Street in Philadelphia, PA. The STD Control Program also
provides free condoms at over 100 sites in Philadelphia. The CDC created this
handy online condom locator tool:</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <a href="http://takecontrolphilly.org/map/">Where to Get Free Condoms</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3.)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Consider PrEP! </b></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veS7dUXjxQM/UurFo5yTfAI/AAAAAAAAAAk/wG-n5qJBn04/s1600/pill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veS7dUXjxQM/UurFo5yTfAI/AAAAAAAAAAk/wG-n5qJBn04/s1600/pill.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is an intervention
where an HIV-negative person takes HIV meds (Truvada) in order to prevent HIV.
Philadelphia is one of the first cities in the United States to implement PrEP
programs and trials. To learn more about
PrEP, see the OHP blog:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-science-prep.html">The Science: PrEP</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Philadelphia FIGHT is sponsoring
the “I AM Men’s Health Project”, a free program for young gay and biseuxal men
who are interested in learning about men’s health and reducing their risk of
HIV infection. The weekly group discusses everything from risk reduction to
leadership skills. Each pariticpant will
receive a week’s supply of <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">TRUVADA® at each meeting, and remain under the close medical
supervision of the Jonathan Lax Center. To find out more, check out the
site:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://fight.org/fight-programs/the-jonathan-lax-center/special-programs/prep-program/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Learn about PrEP</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -0.25in;">4.)<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -0.25in;">Be Careful on Social Media Sites!</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Social
media sites such as Grindr, Downelink, Jack’d, Plenty of Fish and Ok Cupid can
be a fun and easy way to meet with other people in the LGBT community for
friendship, dating or casual relationships! However, it is important to be
aware that the people on the sites may not be presenting themselves in an
honest or accurate way. If you are
planning to meet someone you met through an online social media site or app,
consider taking the following steps: limit the amount of personal information
you share, tell a trusted person you plan to meet someone and arrange to meet
somewhere public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">5.)<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Find a support group and attend
fun social events! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Support groups can be a great way to find friends in
the LGBT community! The Philadelphia Department of Human Services has created a
list of young LGBT support groups:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.phila.gov/dhs/childrenAndYouthResources.html">LGBTQ Youth Resources in Philadelphia </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One program that I really like is Q Spot, which is
sponsored by the Educational Justice Coalition. The program provides fun social
events, mental health services, HIV and STI testing as well as great snacks!
The program occurs on the first and third Saturdays of each month from
8:00p.m.-1:00a.m. at 315 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-1727955412687996602013-12-05T11:34:00.000-05:002013-12-05T11:34:30.810-05:00The Science: PrEP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7Ec0PhbC5_z1B0Ga-TnQyqB-UIg0auSiHkKiNYfVLBfahKiwV2Uc1wi8nLEjKOjeI-ywkYPYAn6gN2urz0A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's talk about Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). When an HIV- negative individual takes HIV meds (<a href="http://start.truvada.com/#" target="_blank">Truvada</a>) in order to prevent HIV, we call it Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. This <a href="http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/prevention/pkb/biomedical_interventions" target="_blank">biomedical intervention</a> can be used by people in serodiscordant relationships (one person is HIV-positive and the other is not), <a href="http://men.prepfacts.org/" target="_blank">by men who have sex with men at high risk</a>, and <a href="http://women.prepfacts.org/" target="_blank">even serodiscordant couples who are trying to have a baby</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You probably have questions about PrEP, I know I do. I'm going to share some resources so we can all get good answers. PrEP is still a relatively new tool for HIV prevention and we are still learning how to make it work best for different types of people. There are still lots of questions. But we do know that when taken consistently and correctly PrEP greatly reduces a person's risk of HIV infection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What's the science?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Research studies comparing PrEP methods have been done in Asia, Africa, North America (including the U.S.) and South America. There are some demonstration projects going on now to see how PrEP works in the real world for real people in the U.S. and other places. If you want a little more detail on the studies you can check out Project Inform's highlights <a href="http://men.prepfacts.org/the-research/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Men who have sex with men and transwomen</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So far there has been one major study that tested the effectiveness of PrEP for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transwomen. The <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1011205" target="_blank">iPrEx</a> study included almost 2500 MSM and transwomen in six countries. Participants were assigned to one of two groups: Truvada with comprehensive HIVcounseling, condoms, STI testing and treatment with HIV testing and a group with the same supports and treatment but who were given a placebo (sugar pill). This study was <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/d/double_blind.htm" target="_blank">double-blinded</a>, meaning neither the researchers or the participants knew who received the Truvada or the sugar pill. Results showed that adherence to the daily Truvada regimen was the single most important factor for effectiveness of PrEP. Those in the Truvada group who took the drug regularly enough to have measurable amounts of the drug in their blood were protected up to 92% over the placebo group. But those in the Truvada group who did not take the drug as regularly were only protected by 42%. Daily use (as measured in drug blood levels) protected up to 99%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heterosexual men and women</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two studies with heterosexual men and women in African countries showed similar results for those who had high adherence to the daily regimen on Truvada: up to 90% protection. These studies were with serodiscordant couples. More than 4500 hetereosexual adults participated in the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1108524" target="_blank">Partners PrEP</a> study and 1200 in the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1110711" target="_blank">TDF2</a> study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Studies that tested PrEP effectiveness in women were not as successful as those on serodiscordant heterosexual couples. The <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1202614" target="_blank">Fem-PrEP</a> study with 2100 African women was stopped early because there was no difference in protection between the Truvada group and the placebo group. Later follow-up showed that the drug blood levels in most of the women did not indicate use of the drug as directed. Adherence was actually very low, despite women reporting taking the medicine as directed. Another study of women, <a href="http://betablog.org/croi-2013-voice-trial-results-on-daily-hiv-prevention-for-women/?utm_source=PrEPFacts&utm_medium=hyperlink&utm_content=Research-section&utm_campaign=PrEPFacts-BETABlog" target="_blank">VOICE</a>, had similar issues of adherence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are several possible reasons for the women agreeing to be in the study and reporting adherence to the drugs, even while not complying with the regimen, including: free access to health care, access to Truvada for HIV-positive relatives, financial compensation and other benefits of study participation. We also know that research participants may <a href="http://www.sciencebrainwaves.com/uncategorized/the-dangers-of-self-report/" target="_blank">report behavior</a> they think is the desired answer in order to avoid embarrassment, make the researchers feel good, forgetfulness, or reasons other than dishonesty. This is why whenever possible, researchers use biological markers, like drug levels in blood, to determine the real adherence levels in a drug trial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Intravenous drug users</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One study has been completed testing PrEP effectiveness for intravenous drug users (IDU) in Bangkok, Thailand. These results are complicated because the IDU participants may also have been having unprotected high risk sex while in the trial, so it is hard to isolate if Truvada works for IDU HIV exposure. In this study, 2400 self-identified IDU were assigned either to Truvada or a placebo, with access to support like risk counseling, condoms, HIV testing, etc. Overall there was a 49% reduction in HIV infection in the Truvada group, with 74% reduction in the group that had directly-observed treatment (they took the Truvada in front of a researcher on a daily basis). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other resources</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So that's some of the PrEP science. There's a lot more coming out all the time, including data on risk behaviors, adherence, effectiveness in real life, etc. Stay tuned for more on PrEP but for now here are a few resources to learn more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://myprepexperience.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My PrEP Experience</a> - firsthand accounts of people who are on PrEP</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/prepvideos" target="_blank">Project Inform's PrEP videos</a> - videos on making the decision to be on PrEP, PrEP in serodiscordant relationships and more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.frontiersla.com/mylifeonprep/" target="_blank">My Life on PrEP</a> - series from Frontiers L.A.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prevention/research/prep/qa/" target="_blank">C.D.C.'s Q & A on PrEP clinical research</a></span></div>
Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-20296930414378077312013-10-29T13:27:00.000-04:002013-10-29T13:27:10.713-04:00Notes from the Health Reform and Advocacy Workshop<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On October 16, 2013 I spent the day with 20 community leaders, learning about health reform and advocacy. We had an extra special guest, Joe Scarborough from the <a href="http://www.delawarehiv.org/" target="_blank">DE HIV Consortium</a>, who shared some of his inside tips on advocacy. Below I'll share some of my visuals and notes from our discussion on the Myths of Health Reform. You can see all the visuals <a href="http://portal.sliderocket.com/OHP/ACA-Myth-Busting" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Health Reform Myths - Busted</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People are so confused by what they hear from friends, family, politicians and even the news. They have no idea what is fact or fiction. This list will help bust some of the most popular myths about the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth #1: Obamacare takes away freedoms.</span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Truth: Nobody is forced to buy insurance or do anything else. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is a requirement to have health insurance, but there are also <a href="http://kff.org/infographic/the-requirement-to-buy-coverage-under-the-affordable-care-act/" target="_blank">several exemptions</a> to this rule including financial hardship, religious objections, and not being required to file a federal tax return. If people choose not to sign up for insurance, they may face a penalty. You can learn more about the penalty <a href="http://kff.org/infographic/the-requirement-to-buy-coverage-under-the-affordable-care-act/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbmgyuBz9sQ/Umbk_jYqmcI/AAAAAAAAF78/DzUoH7LNLqQ/s1600/joker.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbmgyuBz9sQ/Umbk_jYqmcI/AAAAAAAAF78/DzUoH7LNLqQ/s320/joker.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth # 2: It's a government takeover of health care.</span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Truth: Obamacare helps people afford private insurance purchased through online marketplaces from insurance companies.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It is not "single payer" federal health insurance like our friends to the North in Canada have. And let's be frank, we already have "socialized medicine", we call it Medicare. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth #3: Obamacare only helps "those people".</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Truth: Everyone benefits from a more fair, affordable health care system.</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most people will experience lower premiums (over time). Insurance companies will not be allowed to discriminate based on gender, age, or health status. No lifetime or annual coverage caps. Wealthy people (making over $200,000/year) will pay more in taxes.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EQxrMf58z60/UmblC3f2VjI/AAAAAAAAF8E/iofLU_Olq58/s1600/rations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EQxrMf58z60/UmblC3f2VjI/AAAAAAAAF8E/iofLU_Olq58/s320/rations.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth #4: Obamacare rations health care.</span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Truth: We already have rationed health care, the insurance companies do the rationing in terms of coverage limits, revoking coverage and preapproval policies.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Affordable Care Act puts an end to discrimination, denials, and protects consumers by limiting out of pocket spending and deductibles. The law also requires all plans to have <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/essential-health-benefits/" target="_blank">10 essential health benefits</a> which include hospitalization, prescription drugs, labs and tests, mental health and substance abuse treatment, maternity care, and others.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth #5: Obamacare is bad for seniors.</span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Truth: Seniors have a number of protections, including limits on how much more than can be charged for insurance premiums. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NO DEATH PANELS. The part of the law that some people referred to as "death panels" was actually a provision that would allow Medicare to pay for end of life counseling for seniors and their families. The counseling would have been provided by the patient's doctor, not some government panel. But due to all the controversy that provision was removed from the final law. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There will be a reduction in the federal subsidy sent to insurance companies who provide the Medicare Advantage plans for seniors. This subsidy reduction may result in changes in benefits, but will not effect essential services. The federal government made this change to reduce spending in Medicare Advantage, which is more than the spending for traditional Medicare and Medicaid combined.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWgPHgUXaGI/UmblErlZvDI/AAAAAAAAF8M/o8OWpGz5V0M/s1600/stormtroopers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWgPHgUXaGI/UmblErlZvDI/AAAAAAAAF8M/o8OWpGz5V0M/s320/stormtroopers.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myth #6: Obamacare means more taxes and higher premiums for everybody.</span></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Truth: Most uninsured people will save money.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some people, those who make over $200,000 will have to pay a bit more in taxes. Many people will see reductions in their premiums, thanks to getting a tax break to pay for insurance through the health insurance marketplaces. Women will no longer pay higher premiums than men, neither will sick people. Since most people get their insurance through their jobs (about half of Americans), they won't see much changes, except for the regular fluctuations in premiums from year to year. Here's some more info about the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/09/pf/taxes/obamacare-taxes-individuals/" target="_blank">tax changes in the ACA</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Myth #7: Congress is exempt from Obamacare.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Truth: Congress has to buy insurance through the insurance marketplaces too.</b> They don't get some secret fancy plans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The morale of this story: check your facts. Good places to check are <a href="http://factcheck.org/">Factcheck.org</a> and <a href="http://politifact.com/">Politifact.com</a>. And of course, this little old blog right here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And there's always our friends the Youtoons.</span><br />
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Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-26481489150773695192013-10-18T11:34:00.000-04:002013-10-18T11:34:18.143-04:00Q and A from the front lines: What case managers want to know about health reform<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sometimes I get to go out into the world and learn from our amazing HIV community. On September 24th I got a chance to talk with about 30 case managers, social workers and other front line workers from a variety of HIV providers, health centers, and community organizations. It was a lively discussion about how health reform will help people living with HIV (PLWHA). We also covered some basics in communication; how to talk about health reform so people will understand and feel empowered to enroll in new coverage. You can read some about the communication tips here. I'm just going to cover the big topics and provide some links to my go-to health reform resources. You can also read my past posts about health reform <a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/search/label/health%20reform" target="_blank">here</a> for more background and HIV-specific information.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basic protections of the law</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We started off reviewing the basic protections of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare or Health Reform) and how they help PLWHA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Insurance companies can't discriminate based on health status. Nobody can be denied coverage or lose coverage because of a new or pre-existing condition or diagnosis. This means no longer can PLWHA be denied coverage because of their HIV status or any other health conditions. This is big!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Insurance companies cannot charge women more for insurance. No more discrimination based on biological sex, everybody pays the same.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Essential Health Benefits (EHB) include many services either previously not guaranteed under private insurance or not offered by the Ryan White program. These will help fill in gaps of coverage for many PLWHA. You can find out more about EHB <a href="http://www.nastad.org/docs/HCA-Brief-ACA-EHB-May-2013.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. No more lifetime caps on spending. Whether you cost the insurance company $100 or $10 million, they can't deny you coverage. Pretty awesome for people with complex and chronic health conditions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ryan White and health reform</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many people are wondering what health reform means for the Ryan White program. I can't see the future, but what we do know is this: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Ryan White program will continue as is for now</b>. The long term changes and adjustments remain to be seen, and will depend on how PLWHA in different states fair in gaining health coverage, as well as what gaps and barriers remain that prevent PLWHA from access all the care they need to stay healthy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://hab.hrsa.gov/affordablecareact/keyprovisions.pdf" target="_blank">This brief </a>is a good resource explaining how the Ryan White Program will interact and be influenced by health reform. I also wrote a <a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/policy-update-for-community-planners.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> about the future of Ryan White earlier this year, so check that out for some more about Reauthorization.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Medicaid and ACA</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Half of the PLWHA who receive Ryan White services (in the Philadelphia region) are covered by Medicaid. So for the most part, health reform doesn't really change anything for those individuals. They continue to be covered by Medicaid for many services, and Ryan White services can offer "coverage completion" to fill in any gaps to care. Just like always. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is where it gets tricky, the health reform law also allows states to expand Medicaid coverage to include low income adults below 133% of the Federal Poverty Line (about $15,000 for a single person). But states can choose not to expand coverage to those adults. Only half the states have decided to open up their Medicaid programs to low income adults. New Jersey has, and you can read more about it <a href="http://aahivm.org/healthreformnj" target="_blank">here</a>. As of this writing, Pennsylvania has not. PA's Governor Corbett has offered a proposal for some serious Medicaid reforms (which we will dive into in another post), which he calls Healthy Pennsylvania. You can read the concept paper <a href="http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1598151&parentname=ObjMgr&parentid=127&mode=2" target="_blank">here</a>. He has included expanding Medicaid eligibility to low income adults. We have at least several months to see what happens with Medicaid in PA. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://nastad.org/default.aspx" target="_blank">NASTAD</a> estimates that about 60% of PA's ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) clients will transition to a Marketplace plan for health care and prescription coverage. Many ADAP clients will transition from uninsured or under-insured to a Marketplace plan with the help of federal tax breaks to pay for insurance premiums. You can learn more about premiums and tax credits <a href="http://www.nastad.org/docs/HCA-Affordability-Brief-FINAL-February-2013.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Those ADAP clients who do not qualify for enrollment in a Marketplace plan will stay on ADAP and continue to access Ryan White services, as appropriate. People will not be covered by SPBP (ADAP in Pennsylvania) and a Marketplace plan, one or the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helping clients understand options and enroll</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many case managers and social workers are concerned about their ability to assist clients in the health reform enrollment process. The process seems complicated and there is a lot to know. No doubt we will have some bumps on the road to coverage for all, but we can do it by working together. There are a<a href="http://files.www.enrollamerica.org/best-practices-institute/enroll-america-publications/Enrollment_Assisters_Fact_Sheet.pdf" target="_blank"> few ways to offer assistance </a>to individuals and families.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One easy option is to partner with a Navigator agency in PA or NJ. More information about those organizations <a href="http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Health-Insurance-Marketplaces/Downloads/navigator-list-8-15-2013.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your organization can apply to become a <a href="http://marketplace.cms.gov/help-us/cac.html" target="_blank">Certified Application Counselor</a> (CAC) organization and offer help with the enrollment process to your clients. CMS offers an online training course for CACs, however there is no funding attached to these CACs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your organization can also become a<a href="http://marketplace.cms.gov/help-us/champion.html" target="_blank"> Champion of Coverage</a> to help share the news about coverage options. This one is easy, provide brochures and posters in your office, post some links on your website, or tell your clients about enrollment support in your community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All Ryan White service providers are expected to help with outreach and enrollment for the Marketplaces. This is the top priority of the entire Department of Health and Human Services. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Resources</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are some of the best sources on health reform I have found. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://healthcare.gov/">Healthcare.gov</a> - the official place to get all your health reform information, find out about your state's Marketplace, enroll in coverage, print brochures, get live online help, and so much more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.hivhealthreform.org/" target="_blank">HIVhealthreform</a> - webinars, tools, blog posts, issue briefs - you'll find almost everything you need to know about health reform and HIV at this wonderful website. You should definitely sign up for their newsletter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://kff.org/health-reform/" target="_blank">Kaiser Family Foundation</a> - newly-updated <a href="http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/" target="_blank">subsidy calculator</a>, interactive<a href="http://kff.org/interactive/implementation-timeline/" target="_blank"> health reform timeline</a>, <a href="http://kff.org/state-health-exchange-profiles/" target="_blank">state Marketplace profiles</a>, and lots more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-28371255327160767102013-10-07T13:10:00.000-04:002013-10-07T13:11:42.637-04:00Notes from the 2013 Pennsylvania Health Access Network Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am grateful to the folks at <a href="http://pahealthaccess.org/" target="_blank">PHAN</a> for pulling together an informative <a href="http://pahealthaccess.org/2013Conference" target="_blank">conference</a> for PA advocates, providers, and public health wonks like me. We mostly talked about health reform and the Affordable Care Act, with enrollment starting on October 1. Here are some of my notes and impressions. I would love to hear from others who attended.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The conference theme of Cover the Commonwealth informed the whole day's programming. We talked and talked about health reform in PA, including Gov. Corbett's proposal to reform (and expand) Medicaid, <a href="http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/healthypa/index.htm" target="_blank">Healthy Pennsylvania</a>. We also discussed how to talk to people about health reform and new coverage options. I wrote a separate post about communication tips. You can see all the tweets from the conference at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PHAN13&src=hash" target="_blank">#PHAN13</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">$467M in <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pabudget&src=hash">#pabudget</a> savings in 2014 if PA does <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MedicaidExpansion&src=hash">#MedicaidExpansion</a> right away, according to PA <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IFO&src=hash">#IFO</a>: <a href="http://t.co/EEaJyGUo8r">http://t.co/EEaJyGUo8r</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PHAN13&src=hash">#PHAN13</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pagovt&src=hash">#pagovt</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">— PA Health Access (@pahealthaccess) <a href="https://twitter.com/pahealthaccess/statuses/382235024537694209">September 23, 2013</a></span></blockquote>
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Navigators and Certified Application Counselors</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every type of community organization and health care provider is encouraged to have Certified Application Counselors on staff to help individuals and families enroll in the Marketplace. You can find out how to become a Certified Application Counselor organization <a href="http://marketplace.cms.gov/help-us/cac.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Keep in mind that there will be a delay between application and approval from CMS, I have heard 30-60 days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Three of the federally-funded <a href="http://www.communitycatalyst.org/doc_store/publications/Navigators_June_2011.pdf" target="_blank">Navigator</a> organizations were on hand to talk about their plans to help enroll every eligible Pennsylvanian. They have some big goals and are going to need help to reach them. These organizations want to work with your CBO or community group, so contact them to set up a time for their navigators to come and help enroll your clients/members.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.rhd.org/ContactUs.aspx" target="_blank">Resources for Human Development</a> is focusing on the 10 PA counties with the most uninsured people. Philadelphia County has the most uninsured of any county (and the most people). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.pachc.com/about_contact.html" target="_blank">Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC)</a> will support all the Navigators and Certified Application Counselors in the state. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.mhasp.org/about-us-folder/" target="_blank">Mental Health Association of Pennsylvania</a> will also have Navigators in the community throughout the state ready to help enroll people in the Marketplace. </span><br />
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Medicaid</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ann Torregrosa: We really need to give governor our input on 'Healthy PA' Medicaid proposal. Send comments to RA-PWHealthyPA@pa.gov <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PHAN13&src=hash">#PHAN13</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">— PA Budget and Policy (@PBPC) <a href="https://twitter.com/PBPC/statuses/382188003835523072">September 23, 2013</a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In mid-September, Governor announced his Medicaid reform plan, <a href="http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/healthypa/index.htm" target="_blank">Healthy Pennsylvania</a>. All we know about the reforms are contained in the concept paper, about 10 pages. So the details are unknown. Included in these reforms would be coverage for low income adults, regardless of health or disability status, essentially it is Medicaid expansion by another name. I can share with you my initial impressions and some of what I learned at the conference. Please remember that this is just a proposed plan, not a reality. The Governor must submit a Medicaid waiver application to the federal government for approval, which will take at least several months. At this point in time, Medicaid is going to work as it has, nothing new for the short term.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Proposed Medicaid reforms include requiring working-age, non-disabled recipients to actively looking for employment and/or enroll in a job training program. This kind of requirement is not allowed under current Medicaid law and is a big task to oversee and administer. Some people are thinking this could be a roadblock to federal approval.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gov. Corbett would like to remove all co-pays associated with Medicaid coverage and start requiring a monthly premium (bill) based on income, no more than $25/month for an individual or $35 for a household. Many people would pay no premium or very little. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With these reforms, Gov Corbett argues the state would be able to include more people in Medicaid, including low income adults. These newly-eligible recipients would be enrolled in the insurance Marketplace and given state/federal subsidies to pay for insurance just like other Pennsylvanians buying insurance through the state marketplace. These individuals/families would also be required to pay a monthly premium based on income. The will also have a choice to select a Marketplace plan or the Health Choices plans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other items in the concept paper include a penalty of $10 for "inappropriate use" of the Emergency Room, reduction in the number of benefit packages offered to different categories of Medicaid enrollees from 14 to 2, and no changes to children's benefits under Medicaid/CHIP.</span><br />
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<a href="http://t.co/VtDfTvwjpN">http://t.co/VtDfTvwjpN</a> is a good resource for Pennsylvanians to learn more about coverage options <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PHAN13&src=hash">#PHAN13</a><br />
— Nicole Johns (@PublichealthNDJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/PublichealthNDJ/statuses/382183642124283904">September 23, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I encourage you to sign up for the PHAN newsletter to keep up to date on all the training and events they offer. They will be a great resource for health reform in PA. A member of PHAN will come to your organization to educate your clients or staff. You can also participate in <a href="http://pahealthaccess.org/how-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-helps-pennsylvania" target="_blank">webinars and conference calls</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6560/images/PHANConferenceWebLogo2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-63500360450192484112013-09-30T16:20:00.002-04:002013-09-30T16:21:03.467-04:00Big Picture - September 2013<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">post is part of a monthly series. It provides an overview of themes and topics from the general meetings and committee meetings of the Ryan White Planning Council and HIV Prevention Planning Group. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <em>or check out our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/brianalmorgan/presentations" target="_blank">SlideShare</a> account</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/rwpc.html">Ryan White Planning Council (RWPC)</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em></em></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">First off, the RWPC's Needs Assessment Committee has new leadership! Tre Alexander is a first-time co-chair for the committee, and Gerry Keys has returned as a co-chair once again. During their meeting, the group continued its previous discussions on the current processes used to link newly-diagnosed people living with HIV/AIDS to medical care. They developed a list of questions for AACO on these processes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Meanwhile, t</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">he Positive Committee opened nominations for one of its co-chair positions in September. An election will take place at the October meeting, which will be held on Monday, October 7. (Both October and November's Positive Committee meetings have been moved to the first Mondays in those months, due to city holidays.) They also continued talking about their World AIDS Day project recognizing the efforts of local heroes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The Ryan White Planning Council also opened nominations for one of its co-chair seats this month. Rich Lampkins' current term as co-chair is coming to an end, and we'll be taking nominations for his position until the October RWPC meeting. Any nominee has to be a current RWPC member who has been in good standing for at least a year. The nominee also has to accept the nomination. You can email me at <a href="mailto:briana@hivphilly.org">briana@hivphilly.org</a> if you'd like to throw someone's hat in the ring. They also approved a 10% increase budget to include with the grant application to the federal government. We don't expect to actually receive a 10% increase, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Plus, I gave a short <a href="http://portal.sliderocket.com/OHP/Sunshine-Act" target="_blank">presentation on Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Thanks to the efforts of the RWPC Nominations Committee, the Ryan White Planning Council will welcome several new members in October. They approved sixteen applications in total, eleven of which were current members that were reapplying for membership. The new members will go through orientation on October 10, and we're looking forward to having them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/cpg.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">HIV Prevention Planning Group (HPG)</span></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The new HIV Prevention Planning Group (HPG) is still getting their feet wet with community planning until they have their locally-adapted HIV Planning Boot Camp that will be provided by the <a href="http://www.nmac.org/" target="_blank">National Minority AIDS Council</a> next month. Their September meeting started off with a basic <a href="http://portal.sliderocket.com/OHP/OHP-Overview" target="_blank">presentation on us, the Office of HIV Planning</a>. They also watched a CDC Grand Rounds <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/archives/2012/August2012.htm" target="_blank">webcast on high-impact prevention</a>, which is part of a series of webcasts the CDC has been doing on public health. This provided the new HPG members with necessary background information that will help them in months to come.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/Points%20of%20Integration.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Points of Integration Workgroup</span></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Points of Integration Workgroup kept on with its discussion of linkage to care tools for Philadelphia. They talked about current risk assessments used by HIV testers, and how they might include questions to assess a newly-diagnosed client's readiness to enter HIV care into the whole testing process. They also had a discussion on partner services, including their place in linkage to care. They'll finalize the readiness for care tool and determine their next steps during their October meeting.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>It's always a great time to get involved in community planning for the Philadelphia area. To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>calendar</em></span></a><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, or email <span style="color: blue;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a> </span>to </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">find out how to get involved. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em>Briana Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603275847962486418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-76188645498758184192013-09-26T11:58:00.000-04:002013-09-26T11:58:04.937-04:00What to say when you talk about health reform<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Everything I am about to say comes from the great work of <a href="http://www.enrollamerica.org/" target="_blank">Enroll America</a>. Those folks have done the research and pulled it all together so we can use it to make sure all Americans have the affordable quality care they need. So check out all of <a href="http://www.enrollamerica.org/best-practices-institute" target="_blank">their resources</a> for everything you need to plan your outreach and enrollment work.</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qv4gHhtIFm8/UjyeKW-_XVI/AAAAAAAAF6A/4YNpv4AhvyE/s1600/tin+can.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qv4gHhtIFm8/UjyeKW-_XVI/AAAAAAAAF6A/4YNpv4AhvyE/s320/tin+can.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The health reform law is so confusing and complicated. It doesn't surprise me that so many people feel like its just too much to understand, let alone do anything. So I'm going to try to break it down into some simple messages for you to share with people you want to encourage to sign up through the Marketplaces. (If you don't know what a <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/individual/" target="_blank">Marketplace</a> is, then start with this fun and simple <a href="http://youtu.be/JZkk6ueZt-U" target="_blank">video</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Some things to keep in mind when talking to people about health insurance:</u></span></h3>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share personal stories about the uninsured and how health reform helps them be healthy and more secure.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keep it simple and concrete.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make sure the message is targeting the individual. Single people don't identify with messages about families and vice versa.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Share your values, like "security", "family", "fairness". Financial and health security are the biggest motivators for the uninsured to seek more information about the Marketplace.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is deep confusion and skepticism among consumers, due to lack of experience with insurance or bad experiences. Be prepared for it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most people (91%) think that health insurance is necessary or very important.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cost and affordability are the top barriers to coverage for most people.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use examples and dollar amounts whenever possible, rather than percentage or other abstract concepts.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Four messages about health reform that will reach most uninsured people:</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. All insurance plans will have to cover doctor visits, hospitalizations, maternity care, emergency room care, and prescriptions.</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This refers to the 10 Essential Health Benefits. You can learn more about them <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/blog/10-health-care-benefits-covered-in-the-health-insurance-marketplace/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. You might be able to get financial help to pay for a health insurance plan.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People with income between 100% FPL and 400% FPL (Federal Poverty Line) will be eligible for tax breaks to pay for premiums. There is also help for some people to cover co-pays. You can learn more about ways to make health coverage affordable <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/blog/7-ways-to-save-in-the-health-insurance-marketplace/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. If you have a pre-existing condition, insurance plans cannot deny coverage.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Health insurance companies cannot discriminate against anyone based on health status or pre-existing conditions, including HIV, cancer, diabetes, or any other chronic condition or infectious disease. More on these protections <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-a-pre-existing-health-condition/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. All insurance plans will have to show the costs, and what is covered in simple language with no small print.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The health care law requires all coverage information to be simple, clear and comparable. So you can compare plans for the different services, doctors, and limits. No small print allowed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://healthcare.gov/">Healthcare.gov</a> is the place to go to learn about the Insurance Marketplaces and how to access insurance. <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/how-do-i-apply-for-marketplace-coverage/" target="_blank">Here's a great place to start</a> to figure out what kinds of information you need to enroll and how to compare your options.</span></div>
Nicole D. Johnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353741282346784591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-70543158936186840922013-09-20T13:12:00.002-04:002013-09-20T13:12:25.832-04:00The (PA) State of HIV Planning: A report back from the September 2013 PA HPG meeting<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This week, I had the privilege of attending the PA statewide HIV Planning Group (HPG) meeting. Pennsylvania has a new integrated planning body that includes both HIV prevention (for all counties except Philadelphia) and HIV care (for the whole state). This overlaps with our local care planning for the five counties in Southeastern PA. You can read a little more about this, plus get the meeting schedule, on the </span><a href="http://www.stophiv.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PA HPG's website</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkpIyeTcRxY/UjxeAKXh-xI/AAAAAAAAAEk/VUshxIGvLv0/s1600/Harrisburg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkpIyeTcRxY/UjxeAKXh-xI/AAAAAAAAAEk/VUshxIGvLv0/s1600/Harrisburg.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PA HPG meetings take place outside of Harrisburg.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Photo Credit: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124414469@N01/2297464019/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">JasonTromm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> via </span><a href="http://compfight.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Compfight</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">cc</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Members of the PA state HPG are from all over Pennsylvania, so the group conducts its business over the course of two-day meetings held every other month. This cuts back on travel time and expenses, and gives the group a lot more time to work together. These meetings include sessions with the entire body, as well as smaller breakout task groups each day to dive into meatier issues. I live-tweeted the PA HPG meeting. If you're interested in a
play-by-play, you can search hashtag #PAHPG over on Twitter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first day started off with reports back from each of the three task groups: one that deals with membership issues, another dealing with priority setting and resource allocations, and a third that plans needs assessments. Note: This structure will shift in January, but that's what it looks like for now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After updates, we broke into task groups. I sat in with the priority setting and resource allocation group on the first day. Their requirements are a little bit different from what I'm usually involved with, because the care funding comes through Ryan White Part B. For Part A funding (what we get in the Philadelphia Eligible Metropolitan Area, or EMA), the planning body is required to both set service priorities and allocate/budget money for these services. (You can get a refresher on the Philadelphia EMA Part A process </span><a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2013/07/summer-2013-update-priories-and-funding.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.) On the state, Part B level, the planning body does not have to make the budget, so the task group focused largely on the priority setting process. They had an extensive conversation on the type of data and information the PA HPG would need in order to make its decisions, planning out almost a year's worth of presentations. They also briefly discussed the process itself, which will have some parallels to the Philadelphia EMA's process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Later on, the whole PA HPG reconvened to talk about their new protocols, which were similar to what we call bylaws for our planning bodies here. HPG members were asked to review the protocols for changes. The HPG also got an introduction to the three new HIV data managers at the Department of Health. These new positions include one data manager each for care, prevention, and the Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program (SPBP). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last on the HPG's agenda was concurrence for the statewide HIV prevention 2013 interim progress report and 2014 grant application. This document gets sent to the CDC, and the CDC then uses the document to decide how much prevention money the state will receive. It includes changes, successes, and challenges to prevention services and the planning process itself. It also includes special projects and relatively detailed budgets. The document is 62 pages long, with around 72 pages of appendices. I actually read the whole thing - the most notable part for me was about a special demonstration project called Project Silk. Project Silk is a drop-in program geared toward minority LGBTQ ball youth in Pittsburgh, and has had some pretty remarkable results. They've managed to reach a challenging population, and they are using a peer navigator program. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the project at future meetings. The PA HPG did ultimately concur (or agree with) the application after hearing a very thorough presentation, and that was the last item on the first day's agenda.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Day two was much shorter, and we broke almost immediately into task groups. On the second day, I decided to move over to the needs assessment group. If you're not familiar with the term "needs assessments," it just refers to ways that we can figure out what people need, like surveys, focus groups, town hall meetings, and other similar activities. The task group wants to look particularly at people who are "late-testers," meaning that they aren't diagnosed with HIV until they're already sick, so they're diagnosed with AIDS at the same time. They also want to find out more about provider capacity - essentially, whether the providers have room for more clients. Plus they're planning to gather as much data as possible from sources like SPBP and partner services to help them plan their needs assessments. We're going to be sharing our data with them to help with this process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Later on, the whole PA HPG got back together for task group reports. While I was with the needs assessment group, the priority setting and resource allocation task group continued talking about the tool in the context of the whole process. They also further refined their presentation schedule for 2014, and talked about having a more unified priority setting process that would get input from many local consumer groups. I offered to speak with our own Positive Committee about the process when they had more information. Then we heard from the membership task group, which plans to have an ongoing orientation process that includes mentorship. They requested that the Department of Health have the application materials translated into Spanish. They're also looking for more HIV-positive consumer members.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6nh5fTm4jP0/UjxvOR-h_uI/AAAAAAAAAFE/sGcsT5WCk-A/s1600/McGarvey+tshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6nh5fTm4jP0/UjxvOR-h_uI/AAAAAAAAAFE/sGcsT5WCk-A/s200/McGarvey+tshirt.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The new Kenneth McGarvey fashion line</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last on the agenda was the final approval of the HPG protocols, including any updates. Once that was taken care of, there was a small surprise. Ken McGarvey, the director of the HIV/AIDS Division of the PA Department of Health (DOH), created a model of the care continuum that pops its head into many of the DOH's documents. At the end of the meeting, there were surprise t-shirts immortalizing the famous "McGarvey HIV Service Model."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A steering committee meeting followed the main meeting, but it was time for me to head back to Philadelphia. I'm looking forward to attending the next PA HPG meeting, and excited for increased collaboration between our planning bodies and the PA statewide group!</span><br />
<br />Briana Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603275847962486418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8958415738320634555.post-32132693497093440112013-09-06T12:06:00.000-04:002013-09-06T12:06:06.991-04:00Big Picture - August 2013<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This post is part of a monthly series. It provides an overview of themes and topics from the general meetings and committee meetings of the Ryan White Planning Council and HIV Prevention Planning Group. To view meeting materials and presentations, please visit </span></em><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">www.hivphilly.org</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/rwpc.html">Ryan White Planning Council (RWPC)</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em></em></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">As you might remember, the Ryan White Planning Council hosted its annual regional allocations meetings in July. Each of the three regions in the eligible metropolitan area (EMA) did some contingency planning for the 2014 - 21015 fiscal year. (<a href="http://hivphilly.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-big-picture-july-2013.html" target="_blank">See each region's plans in last month's Big Picture</a>.) In August, the Finance Committee and then the RWPC took a look at those plans and voted to approve them. Once we receive the actual grant award from the federal government, the RWPC will use those plans to decide how to allocate the money. You also might remember the service priority list that the RWPC approved in July, and how the RWPC agreed to go back and look at the list again. After reviewing the new <a href="http://hab.hrsa.gov/manageyourgrant/files/happartamanual2013.pdf" target="_blank">Part A manual</a>, the Comprehensive Planning Committee updated the factors used for the priority setting list and ran the numbers again. The RWPC ultimately approved the <a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/documents/prioritieslistfy14.pdf" target="_blank">new service priority list for the 2014 fiscal year</a>. Last, but not least, the RWPC decided to eliminate term limits for RWPC members in order to ensure continuity through changes related to the Affordable Care Act. RWPC members were previously limited to serving three consecutive two-year terms. Current members are still required to reapply for membership every two years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Some of the committee-level work has already been discussed. The Comprehensive Planning Committee also talked about the potential need for technical assistance (in other words, training and support) for HIV providers, specifically about health reform. In addition, they discussed family planning, and permanently moved their meeting date to the third Thursday of the month at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, the Needs Assessment Committee continued its work on a provider survey on linkage to and retention in care for newly-diagnosed clients. They've also had vacancies for both committee co-chair positions; in August, Tre Alexander and Gerry Keys were nominated, and elections will be held in September. The Positive Committee talked about <a href="http://www.worldaidsday.org/" target="_blank">World AIDS Day</a> projects, and will continue working on those throughout the fall. (Note: The Positive Committee moved its September meeting to Monday the 16th at noon.) Finally, the Nominations Committee talked about </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">membership vacancies, committee attendance, and updates to the RWPC application.</span><br />
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</span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/cpg.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">HIV Prevention Planning Group (HPG)</span></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The newly-formed HIV Prevention Planning Group held its second meeting in August. Concurrence was major item on their agenda for the month. "Concurrence" refers to a process required by a CDC, as a part of Philadelphia's prevention grant. Basically, the HPG was asked to vote on whether <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/brianalmorgan/outline-of-the-philadelphia-prevention-plan" target="_blank">Philadelphia's HIV prevention plan </a>reflected the current HIV prevention system, and whether prevention resources were being spent in the geographic areas and on the populations of greatest need. The HPG voted to concur with the plan. They also talked about potential dates for a special training from the <a href="http://nmac.org/" target="_blank">National Minority AIDS Council</a>.</span><br />
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</span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/Points%20of%20Integration.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Points of Integration Workgroup</span></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Points of Integration Workgroup's discussion on </span>linkage to HIV care for those newly diagnosed with HIV continued in August. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">They talked about the group's purpose and work plan for the coming months, and reviewed a draft treatment readiness tool that could be used by HIV testers and then provided to linkage coordinators. They also learned that the previously-discussed <a href="http://www.effectiveinterventions.org/en/HighImpactPrevention/PublicHealthStrategies/ARTAS.aspx" target="_blank">Anti-Retroviral Treatment and Access to Services (ARTAS)</a> model had been included in the new <a href="https://secure.phila.gov/ECONTRACT/Documents/frmPDFWindow.aspx?docid=211307311038420211308011759171N&ext=pdf" target="_blank">Philadelphia prevention system Request for Proposals (RFP).</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em>This is a great time to get involved in community planning for the Philadelphia area. To learn more, follow the links in this post, attend one of the meetings listed on our </em></span><a href="http://www.hivphilly.org/calendar.html" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>calendar</em></a><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, or email </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="mailto:info@hivphilly.org">info@hivphilly.org</a> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to find out how to get involved. If you have questions, you can also call us at 215-574-6760.</span></em>Briana Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603275847962486418noreply@blogger.com0