Purpose: Bay Area Community Health (BACH) seeks a grant of $502,913.03 to implement its HIV Expansion Project (the Project), which will address the HIV epidemic by reducing new infections, increasing access to care, and promoting health equity, with the primary target population of men who have sex with men; the Project will also serve transgender women of color. The Project will expand BACH’s Alameda County, California HIV Programming into Santa Clara County (SCC), California. In accordance with the CDC notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), the Project will increase HIV testing, referrals to Partner Services, and access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and non-occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (nPEP); link persons with HIV to HIV medical care and antiretroviral therapy (ART), including those who have been previously incarcerated; and provide and/or refer previously diagnosed or those at risk of HIV to prevention and essential services. BACH will achieve this through the required strategies to Diagnose, Treat, Prevent, and Respond to the HIV epidemic by establishing new access points for outreach, promotion, testing, care, linkages, coordination, and follow up services.
Activities and Outcomes: The Project will adhere to all required strategies and activities. It will hire in Santa Clara County: 2.0 FTE Outreach Workers, 1.0 FTE Linkage Case Manager, 1.0 FTE HIV Program Supervisor, and 0.5 FTE HIV Program Manager. For Alameda County, it will hire a 0.2 FTE TransVision Supervisor (with another 0.2 FTE of that position and a 0.2 FTE HIV Program Supervisor provided in-kind). The Project will achieve the following outcomes:
• DIAGNOSE: The Project will implement social marketing, online outreach and engagement, partnership development, and other promotion to support out-of-care persons and those at risk of HIV to access integrated HIV/STD screening and testing via suitable off-site venues, in-clinic opt-out testing at 29 clinics, and a large scale testing event. These activities will increase: 1) the number of persons aware of their HIV status; and 2) the receipt of integrated screenings.
• TREAT: The Project will conduct testing, inreach to find out-of-care patients, and follow up that links newly and previously diagnosed patients to HIV medical care within 30 days. Staff will refer to BACH and other essential support service providers, support medication adherence after their first appointment, and will increase: 1) the receipt of HIV medical care and ART for newly and previously diagnosed patients; and 2) access to Partner Services.
• PREVENT: Staff will educate, support access to, and link clients to BACH’s PrEP and nPEP services for those at high risk of HIV; and support those linkages and access with HIV navigation and care. The Project will incentivize retention in HIV care with food and gift cards. The Project will offer venue-based and online outreach, education, linkages, and risk reduction counseling that increases: 1) access to PrEP and nPEP; and 2) condoms.
• RESPOND: Staff will build new or develop current relationships with partner agencies, including county health departments and agencies in the East Bay and Sant Clara County Getting to Zero coalitions, to support a coordinated HIV response.