Wednesday, April 30, 2025
4/30/2025
Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - Title: Via Care HIV/BH Integration Project. Organization: Via Care Community Health Center (Via Care), 507 S. Atlantic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90022, https://www.viacarela.org. Project Director: César Reséndiz, 323.268.9191, cresendiz@viacarela.org. Funding Preference: Qualification 2–Underserved Populations. Via Care requests $150,000 from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Part C Capacity Development Program to support diversifying and expanding our HIV service structure and improve integration of behavioral health (BH) services for people living with HIV (PLWH). The goal of this project—under the HIV Care Innovation category—is to advance HIV and BH outcomes for PLWH in East Los Angeles through expanded access to behavioral health and addiction medicine care improving the health, functioning and stability of PLWH. Via Care is a 14-site FQHC system located within LA County’s Service Planning Area (SPA) 7, a low-income area whose population is disproportionately underserved and underinsured, and experiences significantly poorer health outcomes than much of the rest of the County. SPA 7 is home to approximately 4,500 PLWH. With a linkage to care rate of 79%, 71% for engaged in care, 50% retained in care, and 64% achieving viral suppression, PLWH living in East LA, who are Latino and low-income, are considerably underserved despite efforts of the few HIV providers in the area. While Via Care’s own data for our PLWH patients skews higher, our initiation of HIV clinical services is still relatively new (since 2020) and there is much work to be done to “de-silo” this new service internally. Particularly critical to improving performance on these measures is expansion of and increased access to existing culturally competent services that address BH problems. Based on current patient assessments, 70% of PLWH in East LA have reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety and 70% have a diagnosable substance use disorder (SUD)—yet only 12% have been linked to BH care. Our HIV/BH integration project will consist of: (1) conducting start-up activities needed to more effectively coordinate and integrate behavioral health services with HIV primary care; (2) launching a pilot of the model we develop and beginning data collection, evaluation and reporting on measures; (3) monitoring of progress and sharing of project results with other local entities invested in addressing the HIV epidemic in East LA communities and beyond; and (4) producing a sustainability plan for continuity of HIV/BH care integration. By the end of the project period, these efforts will also will have further developed the HIV programmatic infrastructure we established, will have determined reliable baseline figures for HHS Common HIV Core Indicators—Viral Load Suppression, Medical Visit Frequency, and Retention in Care (RIC)—and will have processes in place to begin to assess and improve progress on these and critical BH-related measures. Via Care’s HIV Care Innovation activities will take into account the cultural challenges presented (especially stigma when accessing either HIV primary care, BH services, and/or addiction medicine care), will be integrated seamlessly into clinic operations, and will work cohesively with existing programs that meet the needs of underserved Latinx PLWH and subgroups with elevated HIV risk due to untreated mental illness and SUD and other socioeconomic and cultural barriers to care. A special focus of this project will be to ensure that our services directly address the needs of high-risk heterosexual cis- and transwomen, many of whom have experienced gender-based violence, as well as MSM, PWID, unhoused and reentry individuals—all in the context of establishing a coordinated comprehensive primary care/HIV health home in the community for PLWH—inclusive of easily accessible BH care and that addresses social determinants of health in addition to clinical needs.
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).