Tarrant County H76HA00123 FY2022 RWHAP Part C Capacity Development Program Project Director: Lisa Muttiah 817-321-4747 2300 Circle Drive, Ste 2306 Fort Worth, TX 76119 lmuttiah@tarrantcounty.com The Tarrant County Administrative Agency (TC AA) is requesting Infrastructure Development funding to purchase dental equipment to develop, enhance, and expand oral health care services for people with HIV (i.e., creating or expanding an HIV dental operatory or clinic). TC AA will Partner with CAN Community Health (CAN) in the purchase and development of a Mobile Dental Unit that can service the rural areas of the service area and the purchase of Panoramic Digital X-ray equipment that will increase efficiency and quality of dental x-rays. The Tarrant County HIV Administrative Agency (TC AA), located in Fort Worth, Texas, manages HIV/AIDS funding for care and services for people with HIV in the North Central Texas area. The service region includes the Ryan White Program Part A Fort Worth-Arlington Transitional Grant Area (TGA) and a Part B Health Service Delivery Area (HSDA). The TGA's four-county area stretches over 2,918 square miles and is comprised of Tarrant, Hood, Johnson, and Parker counties. The additional four counties of the HSDA include Somervell, Wise, Erath, and Palo Pinto, which are rural counties that add 3,100 square miles to the overall eight-county service area. The TC AA manages all funding for HIV/AIDS care and services in the north central Texas region. Since 1991, the TC AA has been a Ryan White recipient and manages multiple Parts of the Ryan White Treatment Extension Act (Parts A, B, C, and D) along with Texas State Funds, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) from a single administrative office and with a single planning body. The North Central Texas HIV Planning Council (Planning Council) is a legislative requirement for funding prioritization and allocation of Ryan White Parts A, B, and Minority AI
DS Initiative funds for the Fort Worth Transitional Grant Area, which is the same area as the RWHAP Part D. Although not required for RWHAP Part D, the Planning Council participates in funding decisions to avoid duplication of services. Through this Part C Capacity infrastructure development funding, CAN will expand Oral Health Care Services in the rural areas of the service area in North Central Texas by operating a Mobile Dental Unit (MDU). Presently there are no Ryan White funded oral health services in rural communities and clients must travel into Fort Worth to receive services. This creates a barrier to oral health services. The MDU will increase access to oral health care, reduce wait times for appointments, increase clients' choices for care, and improve overall health for people with HIV (PWH). Implementation of this MDU is an ideal opportunity to actualize CAN's mission of sustainable growth in areas of the nation where PWH face limited choices for rapid access to high-quality care Oral Health Care. In addition, CAN will procure Panoramic Digital X-ray equipment to utilize in their dental clinic. These x-rays are more efficient and provide a detailed, full mouth view. TC AA has an active Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) which participates in the development of programming and quality management activities. Quality Management is focusing on viral load suppression and retention in care measures. TC AA is requesting $150,000 for the Infrastructure Development funding for the purchase of dental equipment to develop, enhance, and expand oral health services for people with HIV. TC AA has included a funding preference for serving rural communities as part of this application: four of the eight counties in the Part C service area are rural and outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area.