Maryland-Montgomery County EHE HIV Prevention in Sexual Health Clinics - The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is partnering with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human services to request funds under PS-24-0003 to support and scale up HIV prevention services in Montgomery County sexual health clinics. Montgomery County is an Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) priority jurisdiction receiving funds through MDH under CDC PS20-2010 for Components A and C from 2020 through 2024. MDH and the County have used these resources to plan, develop, and implement an expansion of its HIV/STI testing, prevention, retention, and treatment landscape. This funding request seeks to build on the clinical service expansion which began in 2021 to create a comprehensive, sustainable infrastructure supporting two sexual health and wellness clinics in Montgomery County. These clinics offer evidence-based approaches to STI/HIV testing, treatment, and prevention, including HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Building on the existing partnership roundtable (Testing, Linkage, & Care Collaborative), Montgomery County will develop a formalized and publicly accessible sexual health and wellness intake and referral system staffed by status neutral care navigators. These staff will provide case management services and refer county residents who may need care outside of the county’s safety net clinics. A robust partnership network will be developed to enhance an individual’s likelihood to successfully access recommended prevention and treatment services. This team will be managed by an external facing Program Manager tasked with maintaining, developing, and generating new community partnerships and linkages. MDH will support these efforts through the provision of fiscal/grant management and program evaluation support, including technical assistance to support data collection, data reporting, performance measurement, and evaluation. MDH will also centrally support expanded HIV/STI laboratory services at the Maryland Public Health Laboratory, ensure access to HIV/STI epidemiological and services data, and develop reports and dashboards to disseminate EHE data and monitor EHE progress. Maryland and Montgomery County’s approach to Ending the HIV Epidemic is to solidify and integrate services across the HIV care spectrum which includes targeting services to those who are medically underserved and at an increased risk for sexually transmitted infections. This funding opportunity provides MDH and Montgomery County with the opportunity to develop a sustainable and integrated approach to address the syndemic effects of HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, substance use, sexual trauma and social determinants of health which comprise the health disparities and inequities found within the County and Maryland.
