Project Grant P0647280

RYAN WHITE TITLE III HIV CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING GRANTS - FY 2022 RYAN WHITE PART C CAPACITY ALBANY AREA PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, INC (DBA: THE RURAL CLINIC) 204 N. WESTOVER ? ALBANY, GA 31707 229-888-6559 EXT. 204 ? 229-436-4107 (FAX) SHELLEY SPIRES, CEO SHELLEY.SPIRES@AAPHC.ORG WWW.AAPHC.ORG ALBANY AREA PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, INC., (AAPHC), ESTABLISHED IN 1979, IS A FEDERALLY FUNDED AND NATIONAL CENTER FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE (NCQA) PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME (PCMH) RECOGNIZED COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER (CHC) LOCATED IN ALBANY, GEORGIA. THE MISSION, OF AAPHC, IS TO PROVIDE QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR EVERYONE. IN ADDITION TO TWENTY-FIVE CHC SERVICE DELIVERY LOCATIONS, AAPHC OPERATES TWO RYAN WHITE PART C SERVICE DELIVERY LOCATIONS (IN ALBANY AND THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA) AND PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE CONTINUUM OF OUTPATIENT HIV PRIMARY CARE SERVICES. SERVICES, AVAILABLE ON-SITE AND/OR THROUGH FORMAL REFERRAL ARRANGEMENT, INCLUDE CASE MANAGEMENT, COUNSELING, TESTING, PARTNER COUNSELING, LABORATORY SERVICES, PHARMACY ASSISTANCE, ELIGIBILITY ASSISTANCE, HOUSING ASSISTANCE, FOOD ASSISTANCE, ORAL HEALTH CARE, MENTAL HEALTH CARE, HEALTH EDUCATION, NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING, PERMANENCY PLANNING, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, AND COMPREHENSIVE OUTREACH. AAPHC SERVES THE RESIDENTS OF GEORGIA HEALTH DISTRICT 8-2. GEORGIA HEALTH DISTRICT 8-2 INCLUDES BAKER, CALHOUN, DOUGHERTY, LEE, MITCHELL, WORTHY, TERRELL, COLQUITT, THOMAS, GRADY, SEMINOLE, MILLER, EARLY, AND DECATUR COUNTIES. AAPHC OFFERS SERVICES TO ALL RESIDENTS OF GEORGIA HEALTH DISTRICT 8-2. PARTICULAR ATTENTION, HOWEVER, IS DIRECTED AT REACHING THE LOW INCOME, UNINSURED, UNDERINSURED, VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN MEDICAID/MEDICARE. THE AAPHC SERVICE AREA, IN ADDITION TO RURAL DESIGNATIONS AND HPSA/MUA STATUS, HAS HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, RACIAL DIVERSITY, POOR HEALTH STATUS INDICATORS, HIGH MORBIDITY/MORTALITY RATES, AND PERVASIVE POVERTY. ROUGHLY 60% OF THE SERVICE AREA IS BLACK. IN DOUGHERTY COUNTY, THE BLACK POPULATION EXCEEDS 70%. IN GEOR GIA, 32% OF THE POPULATION IS AFRICAN AMERICAN. ROUGHLY 82% OF THE AAPHC SERVICE AREA LIVES BELOW 200% FPL. HIV/AIDS HAS, HISTORICALLY, DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY POPULATIONS. HIV/AIDS DOES, IN FACT, DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN GEORGIA. IN 2019, 71% OF INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS, IN GEORGIA, WERE BLACK (WHILE ONLY 29% OF GEORGIA IS BLACK). IN 2019, 71% OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED (WITH HIV) GEORGIANS WERE BLACK. (GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2019) IN 2021, ACCORDING TO THE AAPHC NEEDS/DEMAND ASSESSMENT, 85% OF USERS AT THE RURAL HIV MODEL WERE BLACK. A TOTAL- 35% OF AAPHC RURAL HIV MODEL USERS, IN 2021, WERE BELOW 100% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL (FPL) AND 50% WERE BELOW 200% FPL. AAPHC HAS BEEN AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF THE HIV/AIDS HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM, IN SOUTHWEST GEORGIA, SINCE THE FIRST HIV/AIDS CASES WERE REPORTED AND DIAGNOSED (IN THE AREA) IN 1983. AAPHC, CURRENTLY, PROVIDES MORE THAN 80% OF INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH HIV/AIDS, IN SOUTHWEST GEORGIA, WITH CARE/SERVICES. ORAL HEALTH CARE ACCESS, PARTICULARLY AMONG THE HIV/AIDS POPULATION, IS AN EXISTING (AND GROWING) PROBLEM IN THE AAPHC SERVICE AREA. AAPHC CURRENTLY HAS AN EXISTING DENTAL PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ORAL HEALTH SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY INCLUDING ALL RYAN WHITE PART C CLIENTS. AS THE HIV INFECTED POPULATION (IN THE SERVICE AREA) GROWS, THE NEED FOR SERVICES ALSO GROWS. AAPHC IS REQUESTING $149,778 RYAN WHITE PART C: CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDS TO STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE (OF AAPHC) AND AUGMENT THE ABILITY TO ESTABLISH ONSITE ORAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN LEESBURG, GEORGIA (IN LEE COUNTY). AAPHC WILL, ULTIMATELY, USE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE PURCHASE OF DENTAL EQUIPMENT, DENTAL SUPPLIES, AND PROMOTION OF THE "YEAR OF SMILES" CAMPAIGN.