Washington AIDS Partnership & Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
Washington AIDS Partnership
The Mobile Outreach and Retention Engagement Project (MORE) will support the development of targeted mobile medical teams to reach individuals living with HIV/AIDS who struggle with engagement in HIV care through the traditional provision of medical services.
Need
In Washington, D.C., 600 new HIV infections occurred in 2012 and over 16,000 residents are currently living with HIV. African Americans are disproportionately affected, accounting for 75% of newly diagnosed HIV cases despite being only 48.6% of the D.C. population.
The highest rates of people living with HIV in D.C. live in Wards 5-8, areas which also have the highest poverty rates. Only 63.3% of HIV patients in D.C. were in the care of an HIV specialist and 45.9% achieved HIV viral suppression.
Project
The Mobile Access Initiative will use mobile medical teams to reach underserved patients in Washington, D.C.’s Wards 5-8. These teams will identify patients who have fallen out of HIV specialty care and offer medical evaluations, lab draws, and other services in non-traditional community locations. These locations may include recreation centers, libraries, and other locations convenient to clients, and the services will be offered at flexible times, including evenings and weekends.
Ongoing evaluation will include data analysis to track the retention of clients, treatment adherence, and viral load suppression as part of the HIV care continuum. The results and data from the project will provide the basis of a State Plan Amendment for D.C. Medicaid coverage of non-clinic-based services.
Project Leader
Channing Wickham, wickham@washingtongrantmakers.org
Partners
- Washington, D.C. Division of Health’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA)
- MAC AIDS Fund
- Whitman-Walker Health