Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - Project Abstract • Project Title: FY 2025 RWHAP Part C Capacity Development Program • Category: Infrastructure Development • Selected activity: Telehealth • Grant program funds requested: $150,000 for the one-year project period Abounding Prosperity, Inc. (AP, Inc.) is proposing a project in the Infrastructure Development category, option 2: Telehealth. The proposed project will focus on integrating the ALPHA behavioral health (BH) treatment plan with the agency’s telehealth platform, NextPatient, and its Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, Athena. The platform is focused on the delivery of behavioral health telehealth services, and AP, Inc.’s behavioral health staff will utilize it to increase the agency’s capacity to provide behavioral health services for people living with HIV (PLWH) via telehealth. This integration will enable behavioral health staff to increase patient caseload, and offer efficient access to behavioral health treatment plans for providers and patients. Needs to be addressed: AP, Inc. is in need of capacity development funds to integrate the telehealth system into its EMR to address gaps in access to behavioral health services PLWH clients. Currently, the organization lacks a behavioral health telehealth platform, limiting AP, Inc.’s ability to address behavioral health issues fully, offering confidential services via the telehealth platform and therefore not limiting services only to those clients who are able to attend in-person appointments. Without EMR integration, telehealth visits are difficult to document, track, and bill properly, creating administrative burdens and reducing the effectiveness of virtual care. Proposed services: AP, Inc. has completed the initial research stage to develop a clear implementation plan. First, the organization will work with IT specialists and system vendors to complete the technical integration, ensuring that ALPHA, NextPatient and Athena function as a unified system. The team will conduct system testing to confirm that appointment scheduling, messaging, and patient tracking features operate correctly within the EMR. AP, Inc. will begin training staff on using the integrated system as the integration is completed. AP, Inc. will monitor progress by establishing routine check-ins with staff and system users to collect feedback, address technical issues, and optimize workflows. The project team will conduct performance reviews to track system usage, measure efficiency improvements, and identify any barriers to adoption. By the end of the grant period, the telehealth system will be fully operational within the EMR, staff will be proficient in using it, and the organization will have improved its capacity to schedule appointments efficiently, enhance care coordination, and reduce provider workload. Population group(s) to be served: AP, Inc. serves the Dallas County, Texas community, which faces significant challenges in HIV care retention and viral suppression. The organization aims to address gaps in telehealth access, care coordination, and service integration to improve health outcomes for people with HIV, particularly among young adults who experience lower retention rates. Among AP, Inc.’s clients, 75% are Black, 15% are Latino, 5% are White, and 6% are classified as other, and 100% of clients live below the poverty line.
