Webinar 2 — Moving Patients Along the HIV Care Continuum and Beyond

Successful Interventions in Improving Linkages to Care and Addressing HCV Comorbidity and Coinfection

This HRSA webinar is the second in a series titled Improving Health Outcomes: Moving Patients Along the HIV Care Continuum and Beyond, by HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau, Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Integrating HIV Innovative Practices (IHIP). The series features successful HRSA SPNS grantees sharing evidence-informed care model interventions, lessons learned, replication tips, and stories from the field for others looking to implement similar interventions in their clinic or community.

This webinar series aimed to:

• Inform Ryan White providers and other service providers about SPNS intervention models;
• Identify the steps for replicating featured Care Continuum intervention models in HIV care and ancillary service settings; and
• Discuss challenges and other lessons learned in incorporating evidence-informed models into routine practice.

Featured Presenters and Interventions

Active Referral Intervention

Virginia Department of Health
Presenter: Anne Rhodes, PhD

Anne Rhodes is the Director of HIV Surveillance at the Virginia Department of Health. She has her PhD in Epidemiology and Community Health and has worked in HIV and data systems since 1994.  She was a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University before moving to the health department, where she oversees all HIV care, prevention and surveillance data and has worked to integrate multiple data systems for tracking outcomes across the HIV continuum of care.  She has also worked in substance abuse, corrections research and clinical trials. The Active Referral Intervention was part of the SPNS System Linkages Initiative.

Dr. Rhodes discussed the Active Referral Intervention. In the Active Referral model, Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) focus on rapidly linking newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals and clients identified as being not fully linked or lost to care. DIS identify priority cases, reach out to these individuals, discuss diagnosis and provide education, as well as active linkage to a patient navigator.

Hepatitis Treatment Expansion Initiative

University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital
Presenter: Valerie Robb, RN

Valerie Robb, RN works at the UCSF HIV/AIDS Clinic at San Francisco General where she coordinates the Hepatitis Treatment Program. She has been involved in all aspects of program development, patient education, support and treatment monitoring since 2004. As a trainer with the AIDS Education and Training Center, Valerie conducted numerous presentations on HCV management for HIV positive individuals. In 2012, she developed a peer educator program to successfully initiate HCV treatment at diverse sites throughout the public health system. Valerie’s goal is to see HCV eradicated in her clinic setting before retirement! The HCV intervention was part of the SPNS Hepatitis C Treatment Expansion Initiative.

Robb discussed the Hepatitis Treatment Expansion Initiative. This intervention took place at San Francisco General Hospital and focused on increasing their capacity to evaluate and treat hepatitis C (HCV) among their co-infected clients. This included transitioning care models from a clinic-wide hepatitis initiative to a dedicated hepatitis clinic with a multidisciplinary team.