Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Enhancing Sexual Health in Rural Kentucky: A Whole-Person Approach for High-Risk Populations - As a 30-year champion and health provider for people living with HIV in Western Kentucky, Matthew 25 AIDS Services, Inc. (M25) will use PS-24-0003 cooperative agreement funding to accelerate clinical testing, prevention, and care for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), stand up a two-exam room mobile sexual health clinic, and collaborate with community partners to bring effective prevention, care, and education directly to high-risk populations. This five-year project, ambitious yet achievable, will measurably increase the region’s capacity to identify and swiftly respond to new HIV/STI outbreaks, and at the same time grow community awareness and use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). With clinic sites in Henderson, Owensboro, and Bowling Green Kentucky, M25 is the only specialized sexual health clinic in a 25-county area; success can be seen in its 500+ patients living with HIV who have a viral load that is undetectable and therefore untransmittable. Now the M25 staff and leadership are entering the next great phase of the battle, combining the effectiveness of prophylactics (condoms, PrEP, PEP) with new tools (data sharing, mobile clinic), and new delivery approaches (express services models, whole-person prevention). M25 has developed insurance navigation and pharmacy programs to generate less-restricted revenue sources, invested in eight vehicles to transport patients to and from clinic sites and referrals, and trained up a team of prevention and education providers who have developed over 40 area MOU partnerships for testing, condom/literature distribution, and PrEP navigation. Additionally, M25 has positioned itself locally, regionally, and nationally as both an exemplary manager of public/private funds and as a trusted advocate and provider in the area. With this $5 million-dollar cooperative agreement, the CDC and M25 will scale up HIV/STI prevention and care in the EHE priority jurisdiction counties of Barren, Butler, Daviess, Edmonson, Henderson, McClean, Ohio, Union, Warren, and Webster. Special attention will be given to lowering identified access barriers for sexual partners of people at risk for HIV/STIs, incarcerated persons, and persons with low income who lack reliable transportation. In Year 1 of this five-year project, activities include: 1. Add five new highest-priority services for STI prevention and treatment, including Expedited Partner Treatment and same-day PrEP/PEP eligibility and oral prescriptions. 2. Provide vouchers for free HIV/STI testing to newly released inmates with financial incentive provided when voucher is used within one week of reentry. 3. Expand M25’s patient advisory board to strengthen engagement with non-HIV+ populations of focus. 4. Provide all employees implicit bias-related trainings through the evidence-based Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Outcomes: 1. Increase the number of patients receiving STI testing regardless of HIV status and test outcomes. 2. Increase the number of screenings for HBV/HCV and offered vaccinations for HAV, HBV, HPV, and Mpox. 3. Increase the number of patients requesting PrEP who are assessed as eligible and are provided same day prescriptions for oral PrEP. 4. Increase the number of patients newly enrolled in an insurance plan by an M25 Insurance & Eligibility Specialist in proportion to the sum number of newly identified infections and new PrEP prescriptions. 5. Increase rapid linkage to care for persons newly diagnosed with HIV in physical clinic sites. 6. Increase the number of new clinics, jails, CBOs, and community partners with signed MOU partnerships to set and measure EHE-benchmark-driven STI testing and PrEP prescribing goals. The approach is informed by appropriate and available data, tools, recommendations, and evidence-based interventions. Ultimately, this undertaking will make it easier for people at risk for diseases we know are preventable and treatable to get the help they and our communities need.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).