“Changing lives one at a time.”

- A HRSA/SPNS ‘Black Women First ‘Demonstration Sites Project Update

Our local Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA)/Black Women First Initiative - Improving Care and Treatment Coordination for Black women living with HIV (BWLWH) - has had a busy year! Despite the humanitarian crisis following a major hurricane and hardships of an ongoing pandemic, we’ve found joy, togetherness and success in virtual and in-person gatherings, health milestone victories, small celebrations, and organizational learning and growth.

One of the milestone victories our project team has achieved is our quick and strong enrollment numbers, which ultimately means more services for more folk! With a goal of 35-50 women enrolled in a year’s time, we’ve already enrolled 35 women since opening our study in August 2021, and we look forward to even more in 2022.

As we look back on the year we see that we dedicated 2021 to building our team and partnership with Priority Health Care (PHC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) on the West Bank and the site where most of our program activities are implemented. To increase their organizational capacity to support cis- and transgender BWLWH, we trained PHC clinic providers and support staff in trauma-informed and gender-affirming care, supportive services for intimate partner violence and stigma reduction. We hired peer health navigators (PHNs) with lived experience and/or a history of strong working relationships with cis- and trans BWLWH. After hiring, we provided them with robust onboarding and the resources needed to sustain high-quality work, and intentionally positioned them at the center of our strategy to engage and retain patients in care.

Before we started enrolling participants, PHNs received training in patient navigation, motivational interviewing, client-centered treatment plans and evaluation practices. Since then they’ve received ongoing support during routine team meetings, peer-mentorship and professional development. PHNs lead recruitment, enrollment, and health navigation activities to reduce the number of patient hand-offs. This makes the care coordination experience easier and more familiar for participants, and increases their chances of long-term retention in program activities - which prioritize BWLWH who have never entered into care, have fallen out of care, or are at high risk of falling out of care.

Our PHNs make sure our strategy is culturally-relevant and patient-centered by checking in weekly with participants, noting their needs and barriers to holistic care and making the appropriate linkages to address these needs. For example, a PHN supported a participant by accompanying them through the process of legally changing their name. PHNs build trust and rapport with clients and create space for wellness extending beyond HIV care and treatment. During optional monthly support group sessions, our PHNs note that participants “comfort one another, provide encouragement, while also educating each other.” Topics of discussion and practice include, but are not limited to, breathing techniques for anxiety/panic attacks, self-care and relaxation techniques, healthy relationships, how and when to disclose your HIV status, intimate partner violence and finance and new homeowners info.

To wrap up the year, what better way to do it than to leave you with the exciting news one of our health navigators at PHC recently shared about a participant in our enhanced patient navigation program -

“One of our ladies called to tell us she reached VIRAL SUPPRESSION!!! She said ‘I couldn’t have done it without your help and guidance, my PHC provider, and my group sisters.’ I’m sharing with you all to say keep pushing - we’re changing lives one at a time.

I hope this brings you as much joy as it brought me.”

For more information about our HRSA program, please contact Priya Lewis, MPH, RN, our HRSA Senior Program Manager.