By: Emily Scagel/TRT Assistant Editor–
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded over $68 million in grants for HIV/AIDS care for women, infants, children and youth. These grants are funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s, HRSA, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. The funds will be used to ensure that those women, infants, children and youth living with HIV/AIDS will receive comprehensive care and services.
The funds will aid 114 community-based organizations, university hospitals and health departments, eight of which are in New England.
Boston Medical Center, BMC, one recipient, will use the funds to aid the adult and pediatric infectious diseases program, which provides care to over 400 HIV infected women and 100 children and youth. BMC’s Infections Diseases practice has the largest HIV/AIDS program in New England, and is among the largest provider of HIV services for women and youth in Boston.
These programs currently provide state of the art medical care for LGBT women and youth, according to Dr. Stephen Pelton, who is the primary investigator for the HRSA Ryan White part D grant, and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease and the coordinator of the maternal-child HIV program at BMC. The Ryan White funds will “increase outreach into the [LGBT] community by our youth coordinator and expand the availability of HIV testing to the community,” said Pelton.
Though Boston Medical Center received only 70% of what was requested, their awarded $350,000 still creates a considerable impact in programming.
“The resources will permit the continuation of programs such as the transition of youth from pediatric care to adult care, the TICKET program that promotes medical care and medication adherence for young adults and the integration of care for HIV infected pregnant women,” stated Pelton. “It will also permit expansion of services for women, including special focus on support for newly diagnosed HIV infected women using peer navigation.”
The grants will help to increase access to care and reduce health disparities relating to HIV/AIDS. In general, BMC’s funding will “provide services to enhance the transition of HIV infected youths from pediatric to adult programs, to identify and implement strategies for retaining women in HIV care, including patient navigators to help guide newly identified HIV infected women through the care system, to enhance the linkage of the medical services with food pantry and housing services and to expand activities to identify barriers to care,” explained Pelton.
BMC has had funding in the past as part of various subcontracts in the city, but they are pleased to have women and youth specific dedicated funds, said Pelton.
Other organizations that received funding include AIDS Care Ocean State and the University of Connecticut Health Center.
For more information about Boston Medical Center and the Center for Infectious Diseases, please visit www.bmc.org/infections-diseases.htm. To learn more about the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program visit www.hrsa.gov.
