Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - For FY 2023, Affinity Health Center (AHC) proposes to utilize Infrastructure Development funds to strengthen the organization’s capacity to respond to the changing health care landscape and increase access to high-quality HIV primary health care services for low-income people with HIV. As the only HIV/AIDS service provider for York, Chester and Lancaster counties of South Carolina, AHC provides comprehensive medical care, behavioral health care, oral health care, support services, and HIV prevention services in one location. AHC has a patient-centered, health home model of care, integrating HIV/STD testing, primary care, HIV specialty care, oral health, behavioral health, medical case management, and other supportive services (peer support, transportation, medication access, interpreting, outreach, financial assistance, etc) to ensure a comprehensive continuum of care. In addition, AHC provides Hepatitis C treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis services. AHC is committed to ensuring that people living with HIV (PLWH) are linked to and retained in care, and have timely access to HIV treatment and supports needed to achieve viral suppression. AHC is requesting $126,389 of Infrastructure Development funding to purchase dental equipment for expanding dental capacity. With this additional dental infrastructure, AHC will increase access to comprehensive oral health services with additional patient capacity and additional service capacity. In order to effectively serve our patients living with HIV, AHC must prioritize oral health. This funding will allow AHC to expand the oral health services available on-site to include root canals, crowns, bridges, dentures, partials, mouthguards, and whitening. AHC will also be able to expand operatory capacity to accommodate an additional dental provider planned for in AHC’s 2023 budget. Through this expanded capacity, AHC will be able to serve more patients with consultation, diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic oral healthcare. AHC provided services to 754 people living with HIV in 2022. HIV continues to disproportionately affect vulnerable and underserved populations. Although African Americans comprise about one-third of the total SC population, 68% of AHC’s patients living with HIV are African American. Furthermore, 46% of patients live at or below the Federal poverty line; 67% are considered very low-income (below 200% of poverty); and an estimated 60% have no payer source for their dental care. 29% of patients served in 2022 received dental care either at AHC or through financial assistance from AHC. In 2022, AHC assisted 42% of patients served with transportation and 27% with food assistance. Through AHC care teams, we address the social determinants of health and other barriers to care for PLWH, such as stigma, denial and fear, lack of transportation, food insecurity, and mental health/ substance abuse issues that make it difficult for some to obtain HIV primary care services. AHC is requesting a funding preference for serving the underserved.
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).