The Fenway Institute and Partners Launch National Center for Innovation in HIV Care
Boston, MA (PRWEB) September 26, 2014 -- The Fenway Institute, AIDS United, and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin have announced a new HRSA-funded training and technical assistance resource for Ryan White-funded AIDS service organizations and community-based organizations. The National Center for Innovation in HIV Care provides free training and technical assistance to Ryan White-funded AIDS service organizations (ASOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to help them navigate the changing health care landscape. The Center helps organizations develop strategies to improve operational effectiveness, and implement best practices to optimize outcomes along the continuum of HIV care.
Health care reform and recent research developments such as the preventive effects of HIV treatment have changed the context in which ASOs and CBOs provide HIV prevention and care services. Many ASOs and CBOs have expertise in serving marginalized populations which mainstream health care providers may not have. Increasing the ability of PLWHA to access health care is key to improving the health of PLWHA and increasing viral suppression rates. The National Center for Innovation in HIV Care provides ASO and CBO leaders with the service models and tools they need to 1) diversify their funding streams and 2) work together with health care organizations or develop their own health care services to increase linkage, access and retention in care.
“Organizations serving people living with HIV have to consider how to optimize health care for clients in the context of health care reform with a goal of ending the epidemic,” said Harvey Makadon, MD, Director of the National Center for Innovation in HIV Care. “Organizations could either provide health care services directly or work in collaboration with health care organizations.”
The Center offers web-based training and individualized technical assistance for ASOs & CBOs. Trainings via live and on-demand webinars and interactive learning collaboratives focus on 1) improving organizational sustainability and 2) improving care along the HIV continuum (also known as the treatment cascade). Examples include:
• Understanding the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Ryan White-funded HIV care
• Evaluating how your organization addresses the HIV continuum of care
• Models for formal affiliation with health care organizations
• Restructuring organizations for a changing landscape
• Building board/governance capacity to support organizational change
• Developing new service lines, including pharmacy services in your organization
• Adding billable mental health and substance use services
• Business planning for ASOs and CBOs
• How ASOs and CBOs can contract for non-HIV services with hospitals
• Social enterprise for revenue diversification
The Center also provides individualized technical assistance to Ryan White-funded ASOs and CBOs focused on enhancing sustainability and improving outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS.
“AIDS United has funded cutting edge innovation across the US through its initiatives on Access to Care, Retention in Care, and Sector Transformation,” said Michael Kaplan, CEO of AIDS United. “We are excited to share lessons learned from that innovation with ASOs and CBOs through this new National Center for Innovation in HIV Care.”
The National Center for Innovation in HIV Care is a HRSA/HAB-funded cooperative agreement with the Fenway Institute, which is collaborating with AIDS United and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW).
• The Fenway Institute is the research, training, and health policy division of Fenway Health, a federally qualified health center that is the largest provider of HIV care in New England.
• AIDS United works to end the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant making, capacity building, policy advocacy, technical assistance, and formative research.
• ARCW is home to the ARCW Medical Center, which provides integrated care and services to more than 3,000 people living with HIV through its CMS approved Medical Home. ARCW has provided training and TA to ASOs in 19 states.
• HRSA/HAB administers the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
“The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is home to the ARCW Medical Center, which provides integrated care and services to more than 3,000 people living with HIV through its CMS-approved Medical Home,” said Mike Gifford, CEO of ARCW. “We have provided training and TA to ASOs in 19 states. We look forward to expanding our work through this important initiative.”
To learn more about the National Center’s programs, including upcoming webinars and continuing education opportunities, please visit our website here. To sign up to be on our distribution list for webinars, issue briefs and tool kits, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 617.927.6028.
Christopher Viveiros, Fenway Health, http://www.fenwayfocus.org, +1 (617) 721-7494, [email protected]
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