EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES - Project Abstract Title: Part C Early Intervention Services Provided by AIDS Care Group of Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Applicant: AIDS Care Group 2304 Edgmont Avenue Chester, Pennsylvania 19013 Contact: Eric Strauss, MA, MPH Phone: 610-742-3409; Fax: 484-480-3344 Email: admin@aidscaregroup.org Web: www.aidscaregroup.org Summary of Request: AIDS Care Group, a Part C provider since July 1999, is requesting $691,731 to support HIV medical care, nursing, dental care, psychology, and case management services to minority populations living in the targeted service area defined as the Pennsylvania Southeastern counties of Chester, Delaware, and Lancaster; with additional critical care to minority populations in the adjacent counties of Berks and Montgomery. The agency meets the criteria for and seeks funding preference due to Increased Burden and Serving the Underserved. Target Populations: The five targeted counties combine to provide 9,707 of the State’s 64,669 cumulative cases (15.01%); and 5,593 of the State’s 36,076 currently living with HIV/AIDS cases (15.50%). The City of Chester in Delaware County and the City of Reading in Berks County are among the poorest cities of their sizes in the nation; and respectively those two counties have the 3rd and 6th highest incidence and prevalence rates for HIV in Pennsylvania. In each year from 2020 through 2023 AIDS Care Group provided care to over 1,000 unduplicated HIV/AIDS patients; 85% who identify as minority. The trends are showing increasing needs to treat women (currently 36% of the patient census plus 1% who identify as transgendered); serve HIV patients post-incarceration (currently over 12% of new patients coming into care); and provide multi-disciplinary care (over 62% of new patients have one or more of the following co-morbid conditions: STI, hepatitis C, opioid use disorder, diabetes, hypertension, or a mental health condition). AIDS Care Group’ service strengths lie in the ability to network with county agencies and jails, medical case management agencies, federally qualified health centers, disproportionate share hospitals, and private practices to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach programs. Within the clinical setting, expertise in medicine, dentistry, and psychology; hepatitis C treatment programs, STI testing and treatment programs, pharmacy services, and Opioid Use Disorder programs providing medication assisted therapy and counseling are all coordinated to ensure a seamless continuum of care. Part C funding represents the formidable foundation upon which comprehensive HIV/AIDS care is designed and delivered. Quality management activities serve to document the intensity and duration of care leading to proof that the Part C program can find, link, and retain patients into durable clinical programs with measurable outcomes defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of HIV/AIDS and consistent with the National Goals to End the HIV/AIDS Epidemic.
