Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - Applicant: Migrant Health Center, Western Region, Inc. (MHC) Address: 491 Ramon E. Betances Street, P.O. Box 190, Mayaguez, P.R. 00681 Project Director Name: Dr. Tania Rodriguez, Ph.D. Contact Phone: 787-831-5800 Fax: 787-832-0740 Email: mhc@migrantspr.com Website Address: www.migrantspr.com Project Title: FY 2024 RWHAP Part C Capacity Development Program (HRSA-24-062) MHC is a Community Based, 330 (g) (e) (h), non-profit, 501(c3). MHC provides integrated high-quality health services in 14 clinics located in the western regions of Puerto Rico (PR). MHC provide primary care services, OB/Gyn, oral health, nutrition, optometry, mental health, x rays, pharmacy, laboratory, HIV prevention and treatment, vaccination, and substance abuse services, among others. MHC is electing to apply under the category of Infrastructure Development. The proposed activity is to acquire Telehealth equipment to implement a Virtual Reality (VR) Telehealth component and equip four (4) behavioral health RWHAP providers offices. The purpose of the proposed activity is to strengthen the MHC organizational infrastructure to respond to the changing health care landscape and to increase capacity to enhance and expand access to high-quality HIV primary and behavioral health care services for low-income, uninsured, and underserved people with HIV from the western regions of PR. Currently, the MHC's Ryan White program serves a total of 265 persons with HIV. The program provides HIV care across all 14 MHCs service sites, yet only has 4 HIV treaters, 9 Psychologists and 2 Psychiatrists available to provide services for these facilities. This makes in-person encounters, especially walk-in patients, across all sites nearly impossible. Patients may not always have an on-call mental health therapist available at their closest MHC facility without the support of an end-to-end telemedicine infrastructures across the RWHAP. MHC is proposing to acquire the necessary equipment and software to implement a Virtual Therapy (VR) Telehealth component and equip 4 mental health RWHAP providers offices and one Telehealth Van (existing van) with the necessary resources to convert it into virtual reality therapy rooms to provide psychotherapy services. The proposed telehealth VR therapy program will be the first to be established in any federally qualified health center or Ryan White program in the Island, and the only one of its kind in the western part of PR. MHC will use VR therapy to provide mental health services to RWHAP patients. Through this funding opportunity, MHC will be revamping the entire RWHAP service site, ensuring that the entire HIV care infrastructure is adequately paired to the necessary tools to attend and overcome the barriers that social inequities can present, which result in disproportionate health disparities for the target population. For this funding opportunity, MHC is requesting the amount of $150,000 for the one-year period. For this application MHC is requesting funding preference. The proposed program will prioritize the provision of virtual reality Telehealth services to Hispanic males and females with HIV that reside in the designated medically underserved municipalities of Lajas, Guanica, Isabela, San Sebastian, Sabana Grande, and the rural designated municipalities of Añasco, Cabo Rojo, Yauco, Maricao, and Las Marías. The project expected outcomes are: 1) During the first 4 months, MHC will acquire the VR and telehealth equipment and software; 2) During the first 6 months, the equipment will have been installed and configured; 3) By the end of the project period, at least 1 focus group meeting will be held with RWHAP participants to discuss the initiative; and 4) By the end of the project period, the RWHAP staff will have identified at least 50 patients who can benefit from the new available VR telehealth services, will promote these services and will begin coordinating appointments.
