FY 2021 ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC - PRIMARY CARE HIV PREVENTION - LOS BARRIOS UNIDOS COMMUNITY CLINIC (LBU) REQUESTS FY 2022 ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC - PRIMARY CARE HIV PREVENTION SUPPORT OF $325,000 FROM AUGUST 1, 2022 - JULY 31, 2024. FUNDING WILL INTEGRATE AND EXPAND CURRENT HIV PREVENTION EFFORTS IN ORDER TO DECREASE THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION IN OUR MOST AT-RISK, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC IN THE U.S., A 2019 HHS INITIATIVE, HAS IDENTIFIED DALLAS, TEXAS AS AN HIV HOT SPOT. AS A TRUSTED AND SIZABLE HEALTH CENTER WITH FOUR DALLAS, TEXAS LOCATIONS, LBU IS A KEY POINT OF ENTRY TO PREVENTIVE PRIMARY CARE, INCLUDING HIV SCREENING, PREVENTION AND LINKAGE TO TREATMENT. THE MAJORITY OF THIS REQUEST WILL SUPPORT STAFFING COSTS TO INCLUDE A 1.0 FTE PROVIDER, A 1.0 FTE CARE NAVIGATOR, A 1.0 FTE REGISTERED NURSE AND 1.5 FTE MEDICAL ASSISTANTS. IN 2018, THERE WERE A REPORTED 18,126 INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV IN DALLAS COUNTY, OR 849 INDIVIDUALS OUT OF EVERY 100,000. OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, 42.1% WERE BLACK, 25.9% HISPANIC AND 25.7% WHITE. DALLAS COUNTY'S RATE OF PREVALENCE PER 100,000 AT 849, TOPS THE STATE'S RATE OF 393 AND THE RATE FOR THE UNITED STATES AT 375. THIS DATA RUNS COUNTER TO THE PREVALENCE OF THE PREP RATE IN DALLAS COUNTY. IN 2019, ONLY 129 INDIVIDUALS OUT OF 100,000 WERE PREP USERS. THE PREP-TO-NEED (PNR) RATIO IN DALLAS DOES NOT REFLECT THE ACTUAL NEED FOR HIV PREVENTION. THE PNR RATIOS OF 6.6 CAN BE FOUND IN THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES, WHILE, IN 2019, DALLAS COUNTY'S PNR WAS ONLY 3.37. AS THE LARGEST COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER IN THE DALLAS METROPOLITAN AREA, LBU IS PERFECTLY POSITIONED TO IMPROVE THE PNR IN DALLAS COUNTY. (2017 PROFILE OF HIV IN DALLAS COUNTY, DALLAS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AIDSVU, UNDERSTANDING HIV WHERE YOU LIVE, HTTPS://AIDSVU.ORG/) BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC/LATINO COMMUNITIES ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY HIV. IN 2018 BLACKS/AFRICAN AMERICANS REPRESENTED 13% OF THE US POPULATION, BUT 41% OF PEOPLE WITH HIV. HISPANICS REPRESENTED 18% OF THE POPULATION AND 23% OF PEOPLE WITH HIV. (HIV.GOV, FEBRUARY 1, 2021) LBU CLINIC LOCATIONS ALLOW THE ORGANIZATION TO TARGET AT-RISK, UNDERSERVED BLACK AND HISPANIC POPULATIONS, WITH LOCATIONS IN HRSA DESIGNATED MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS. LBU FACILITIES SERVE THE LOW INCOME, DENSELY POPULATED, URBAN COMMUNITIES OF WEST DALLAS, OAK CLIFF AND SOUTH OAK CLIFF. THE NEWEST SOUTH OAK CLIFF CLINIC COMMUNITY IS PRIMARILY BLACK (56.4%), THUS LBU WILL PRIORITIZE ITS EFFORTS IN THIS COMMUNITY. LBU IS LARGEST FQHC SERVING THE DALLAS METROPOLITAN AREA. LBU CELEBRATED ITS 50TH YEAR IN OCTOBER 2021 AND HAS SHOWN REMARKABLE GROWTH SINCE OUR INCEPTION, LEVERAGING COLLABORATIONS THAT ARE CERTAIN TO STRENGTHEN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM, INCLUDING WITH DALLAS COUNTY'S HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC, AND PRISM NORTH TEXAS, THE LARGEST DALLAS-BASED HIV-AIDS SERVICE ORGANIZATION. LBU HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO ADD NEW COLLABORATORS INCLUDING CATHEDRAL OF HOPE, THE LARGEST PREDOMINANTLY LGBTQ CHURCH IN THE WORLD WITH OVER 4,000 LOCAL MEMBERS. LBU WILL HIRE AN ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER CHAMPION WHOSE INITIAL ROLE IT WILL BE TO MODEL THE CDC PREP 2021 CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES. KEY IMPLEMENTATION AND INTEGRATION MILESTONES INCLUDE OUTREACH, COLLABORATION, PROVIDER TRAINING TO IDENTIFY INDICATIONS FOR PREP, THE INITIATION OF PREP PRESCRIPTIONS, AS WELL AS OFFER ASSISTANCE LINKING TO AFFORDABLE MEDICATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (READY, SET, PREP), REGULAR FOLLOW-UP VISITS FOR HIV TESTING AND MEDICATION ADHERENCE COUNSELING. LBU ALSO PROPOSES TO OFFER PREP ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS. LBU PROPOSES THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: 1. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS COUNSELED AND TESTED FOR HIV FROM 6581 TO 8000, 2. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS PRESCRIBED PREP FROM 0 TO 200, AND 3. SUSTAIN 100% OF PATIENTS NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH HIV WHO ARE LINKED TO HIV CARE AND TREATMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS OF DIAGNOSIS. UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE SOCIA