HHS Announces 58 Grants Totaling $21.5 Million for HIV Prevention, Care

Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday announced 58 grants totaling more than $21.5 million to develop, implement and evaluate HIV prevention and care strategies for HIV/AIDS patients, according to an HHS release. The grants, which are administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, include:

• 27 grants totaling $10.9 million under the Ryan White CARE Act Title III Early Intervention Services program to support outpatient HIV early intervention and primary care services for low-income, medically underserved people in existing primary care systems.
  


• Six grants totaling $2.15 million to support five Caribbean Peer Support Model demonstration sites and one Caribbean Evaluation and Support Center under the CARE Act Special Projects of National Significance program. The sites will develop, implement and evaluate peer support interventions designed to help HIV-positive people from the Caribbean who are living in the United States.
  


• 15 grants under the CARE Act SPNS Prevention With HIV-Infected Persons Seen in Primary Care Settings program totaling $4.5 million to select, implement and evaluate behavioral interventions in primary care settings aimed at reducing the risk of HIV-positive individuals transmitting HIV to others.
  


• 10 competitive continuation grants under the CARE Act SPNS Outreach for HIV-Positive Persons, Phase 2 program totaling $4 million to implement outreach models designed to bring HIV-positive individuals into comprehensive, continuous care.
  

Thompson said, "We have learned much about HIV/AIDS since the 1980s, but we still have a long way to go to prevent the spread of HIV and to ensure people in need get appropriate care." He added, "Armed with the knowledge learned through these grants, we will be able to share best practices and improve care in communities across the country." HRSA Administrator Elizabeth Duke said, "Many communities continue to struggle to meet the health care needs of their residents living with HIV/AIDS. Today's Title III grants will help extend HIV counseling and testing, medical evaluation and outpatient clinical care to more of those who need these services" (HHS release, 9/30).

Back to other news for October 1, 2003