HRSA TRACK

HRSA TRACK

We’re excited about all of the innovative programs implemented this year. The Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA) has put together an entire conference track focused on the needs of grantees and consumers. Detailed session listings are below.

Thursday, September 10

Session 1: 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon

Better Rural HIV Care through Data and Technology – For rural areas, factors like travel distances, differences in service availability, and client characteristics have a particular impact on service utilization and clinical outcomes. Hear HRSA data on urban/rural characteristics and care continuum outcomes and learn about interventions to fill care gaps in rural areas, like AETC Telehealth projects and other initiatives to reduce geographic barriers to HIV care.

Learning Objectives

After attending this session, the participants will be able to:

  • Describe urban/rural differences in RWHAP clients.
  • Identify rural issues that complicate HIV service delivery and treatment in an early-stage epidemic.
  • Articulate innovative methods and their implementation to address rural barriers to HIV care and treatment, including telehealth and telemedicine, data collaborations, and practice-based interventions.

 

New Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan Guidance has Arrived – HRSA and CDC have developed integrated guidance for their respective planning processes to use in developing an Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan to improve health outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum and respond to the goals set forth in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The guidance is designed to meet comprehensive plan requirements for both CDC and HRSA-funded HIV prevention and care grantees. The purpose of the integrated guidance is to: (1) reduce the burden of planning and reporting; (2) align reporting dates; (3) leverage resources for prevention and care; (4) utilize integrated epidemiologic profiles; and, (5) submit a multi-year plan with consistent terms across programs. Participants will be able to learn more about the new guidance and hear from CDC and HRSA staff about the expectations and the range of integrated planning activities. Facilitators will present information on the guidance, obtain feedback from stakeholders, allow participants to discuss issues and concerns around integrated planning, identify capacity building and technical assistance resources available to HIV prevention and care planners, and identify areas where technical assistance may be needed.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the purpose of the Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan guidance
  • Describe how the development of an Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan increases state, local, and community collaborations across sectors and engages stakeholders to address disparities in health outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum
  • Understand how the Integrated Prevention and Care guidance will increase the efficiency of planning, evaluation, and quality improvement activities within health departments to meet the HIV prevention and care needs in their jurisdictions.

 

Meet HRSA – Sit down with Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) staff to discuss priorities for HIV/AIDS care programs, inter-agency collaboration, funding opportunities, and grantee issues. Breakout roundtables will focus on key topics of interest to participants.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session participants will:

  • Understand pertinent issues related to legislative and program requirements under he Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
  • Understand funding opportunities and current/upcoming issues related to HRSA programs and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

 

Seminar: 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Strategies to Help Clients Enroll, Use and Maintain Health Insurance Coverage – Learn about the HRSA Affordable Care Enrollment (ACE) TA Center’s practical strategies and easy-to-use tools for providers to use in helping clients enroll in health insurance, use their benefits, and maintain their coverage. Participants will also learn about new ACE resources developed specifically for clients, enrollment assisters, and program and data managers.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Communicate the importance of enrolling in health care coverage to clients.
  • Describe cultural, linguistic, and other considerations that may affect a client’s ability to enroll in insurance coverage.
  • Identify opportunities to support clients in using their coverage and staying enrolled.
  • Describe how they may be able to incorporate at least one of the ACE TA Center tools into their program operations.

 

Friday, September 11

Seminar: 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Housing, HIV, HRSA and HOPWA – Stable housing is critical to ensure people living with HIV (PLWH) access and remain in medical care with optimal health outcomes. Join us to learn about Federal resources and technical assistance to support the provision of housing assistance for PLWH. Leave with connections to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (HHS/HRSA) and Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (HUD) staff, models for local collaboration, and tips to enhance housing assistance for PLWH in your community.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the importance and differentiate between the role of the HOPWA program and the RWHAP program in supporting housing stability and positive health outcomes for PLWHA experiencing homelessness or unstable housing.
  • Recognize the barriers communities face in aligning health and housing systems and identify solutions.
  • Identify models to overcome barriers and improve community-level coordination between housing and health care systems for PLWHA.
  • Start planning effective collaboration in their local area.

 

Session 2: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Walking the Path: Patient Navigators, Community Health Workers, Peer Educators – Non-clinicians, clinicians, and people living with HIV, are employed with various job titles to work with clinic staff to engage clients in the HIV care system. This workshop strives to present successful programs implemented in HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded settings in diverse communities in Nashville, Charleston, Chicago and New York City. Participants will discuss their model programs and the strategies, tools and techniques used to support navigation programs. Join us as we explore these challenges, acknowledge innovative best practices, offer linkages to resources and discover potentials for future coordinated responses.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the session, participants will:

  • Understand the role of HIV peer navigation to support the outcomes of the HIV Care Continuum.
  • Know best practices from a variety of RWHAP parts related to HIV peer navigation programs.
  • Understand the challenges of implementing HIV peer navigation programs.

 

HRSA Moves Forward with TA and Training – The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides capacity building technical assistance and training on a range of issues. Learn about services and resources that your agency can use, covering such topics as clinician training, new models of care, clinical quality management, health literacy, and data and ADAP support. Several of the technical assistance providers will be present to talk about assistance they can provide.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Identify technical assistance products and services available to the Ryan White grantee and provider community.
  • Find technical assistance and capacity building tools and resources to use in your respective programs
  • Understand how to request additional technical assistance when needed

 

Agencies: Sustain and Transform to Survive – Explore training and technical assistance opportunities, one-on-one and in small groups, to build your agency’s capacity in such key areas as health care enrollment, fiscal management, and agency adjustments to health care reform and contracting. HRSA’s TA and Training Partners will be available to discuss tailored assistance.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this roundtable, participants will be able to:

  • Identify ACA and fiscal TA resources available to the Ryan White grantee community
  • Become familiar with how to find technical assistance and capacity building resources to support organizational sustainability and improved fiscal management
  • Understand how to request additional technical assistance from HAB’s TA and Training Partners when needed

 

Session 3: 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Persons Living with HIV at Work in Planning & Quality Improvement – People living with HIV (PLWH) have been part of design and implementation of the HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) since the program’s inception 25 years ago. This workshop will first provide an overview of Clinical Quality Management (CQM) as a tool to improve HIV care and describe a methodology to secure consumer involvement in CQM activities. Next, participants will learn about “how-to” tools to enhance PLWH participation in planning (recruitment and maintenance of participation in community planning; broad PLWH involvement as a means to improve overall service delivery by increasing the community’s public health knowledge base). Two Ryan White Part A recipients will share a multi-media tool and a targeted training module to demonstrate these techniques. Participants will have the opportunity to work closely with experts during the workshop.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

  • Identify creative approaches to PLWH recruitment
  • Understand the basic knowledge and skills that consumers need in order to understand and fully participate in a community planning process
  • Gain an understanding of how broad PLWH involvement improves services and health outcomes
  • Discuss ways that consumers can be involved in quality management
  • Discuss the importance of sharing the impact and/or results of consumer involvement with the broader community
  • Identify the different forms of involvement PLWH can take when it comes to the clinical quality management program
  • Describe the purpose and activities of the “Training of Consumers in Quality”

 

Federal Partners Mend the Safety Net – HRSA data for 2010-13 show reductions in health disparities in the form of community viral load. Hear success stories from federal and state partners working to improve HIV care by coordinating across health and social service programs to address housing, substance abuse, mental health, nutrition and other needs. Learn about the data and projects like the Partners 4 Care (P4C) program and Ryan White HIV AIDS Program efforts that are helping clients move along the HIV Care Continuum.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Understand new directions and areas of emphasis by federal agencies to support a responsive care system that addresses linkage, retention, care and viral suppression across the HIV care continuum that is responsive to a reformed healthcare environment.
  • Describe examples of ways that HRSA recipients and partners are responding to federal, state and local priorities.
  • Understand recommendations and promising practices on moving forward in a reformed healthcare environment that address linkages, partnership and leveraging resources.

 

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Planning and PLWH – Join this informal group to discuss ways to increase meaningful consumer participation in the Ryan White HIV AIDS Program (RWHAP) community planning process. The roundtable will be a facilitator-led discussion and will start with a review of basic concepts and assumptions about community planning. We will then invite participants to discuss their community planning experiences “on the ground.” The roundtable facilitator will help participants identify barriers to PLWH participation and help the group develop strategies to eliminate barriers and increase consumer involvement.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will understand:

  • Basic concepts and assumptions about community planning for HIV/AIDS services
  • Ways to increase meaningful consumer participation in community planning
  • Effective strategies developed and used to eliminate barriers and challenges to increasing consumer involvement in community planning processes

 

Saturday, September 12

Seminar: 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Moving Forward on the HIV Continuum of Care – The HIV Continuum of Care is a tool that helps us analyze the effectiveness of strategies designed to increase retention in care and achievement of viral suppression. Listen to a review of client level data demonstrating outcomes being achieved under HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP). Then, gain insights on how the care continuum is being operationalized in HRSA programs, like new statewide service efficiencies under RWHAP Part B, HIV medication access under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), RWHAP Parts C and D clinical innovations, and quality improvement strategies.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe how RWHAP clients interact with the HIV care continuum.
  • Identify opportunities to innovatively use routinely collected HIV program data to evaluate client progress along the care continuum.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how clinical providers and RWHAP recipients can implement interventions in practice to improve indicators along the HIV care continuum.

 

Session 4: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Disparities + Innovation = Better HIV Outcomes – HRSA has funded dozens of initiatives since 1990 to identify best practices in HIV care. Learn about HRSA AETC projects targeting health disparities among special populations. Study findings will be presented along with care models and curricula you can use in your communities.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this sessions, participants will be able to:

  • Identify best practices in HIV care, specifically for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and Border populations.
  • Have a clear understanding of the HRSA AETC projects targeting health disparities among special populations.
  • Have a better understanding of the care models and curricula that are used in communities targeting special populations.

 

Tell Me About It: Systems of Care – Creating a strong foundation of care that addresses the comprehensive health needs of the person living with HIV is essential to producing long term successful health outcomes. This roundtable focuses on community level coordination and the opportunity to discuss system-wide challenges to retention in care and barriers to maintaining virally suppressed populations. The use of data may reveal gaps and/or fragmentation of service delivery while facilitating discussion and quality improvement across a variety of organizational settings. Join us as we explore these challenges, acknowledge innovative best practices, offer linkages to resources and discover the potential for future coordinated responses.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Share and learn about system-wide challenges, gaps and/or fragmentation of HIV service delivery which impacts retention in care and maintenance of virally suppressed populations.
  • Share and learn about successful approaches to coordinating HIV related care and treatment across systems of communities, providers, and supporting services.

 

Session 5: 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Models to Improve HIV Health Disparities – The HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program has developed multiple service models to provide care to low-income minority populations hardest hit by HIV and improve health outcomes along the HIV Continuum of Care. A series of 20-minute segments and audience Q/A will discuss care delivery to correctional populations, young Black MSM, and Women of Color, with attention to regional variations. Leave with “take away” strategies on designing your own models of culturally and developmentally appropriate care.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Have a better understanding of service models that provide care to low income minority populations hardest hit by HIV.
  • Discuss and strategize on how design models of culturally ad developmentally appropriate care to correctional populations, young Black MSM, and Women of Color.

 

Sunday, September 13

Seminar: 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Clinical Quality Management: Guiding Better HIV Care – Clinical Quality Management (CQM) is a tool to help improve clinical care and client health outcomes. Learn the components of CQM that Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs are implementing to meet legislative requirements, national standards, address the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and improve their organization’s Continuum of HIV/AIDS Care. Topic-specific facilitated small group discussions will be held to assist participants in their organization’s CQM programs. Leave with tools and an action plan to improve your CQM program.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Define the components of a clinical quality management program.
  • Describe how a clinical quality management program coordinates with other program activities.
  • Assess their organizations’ clinical quality management program and identify strength and opportunities for improvement.
  • Identify tools, resources, and changes aimed at strengthening their organizations’ clinical quality management program.