Program Updates
PrEP’n Community Health Centers to Support Patients with HIV Prevention
Pacific AETC-Bay Area, North & Central Coast in partnership with Santa Clara County Getting to Zero Initiative invites you to join us for
PrEP’n Community Health Centers to Support Patients with HIV Prevention
October 30, 2023 | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
The Sobrato Center for Nonprofits 1400 Parkmoor Ave. San Jose, CA 95126 Conference Room: Cupertino A
Course Description: We have the tools we need to end the HIV epidemic and this event is designed to support health center staff and healthcare providers in building capacity to become PrEP prescribing sites. Participants will learn about the recommended PrEP regimens including dosing, safety, and efficacy. Participants will also learn recommended clinical and laboratory monitoring and how to ensure PrEP service coverage for all patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify epidemiological patterns in sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Santa Clara County.
- Discuss the recommended PrEP regimens, including dosing, safety, efficacy, and clinical eligibility.
- Discuss recommended clinical and laboratory monitoring for persons receiving PrEP.
- Describe the benefits of PrEP to prevent HIV.
- Discuss current barriers, strategies, and best practices for obtaining PrEP services coverage and reimbursement.
Continuing Education Information:
This course meets the qualifications for 2.0 contact hours of continuing education credit for nurses as required by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CPE 13741. Bay Area North & Central Coast AIDS Education & Training Center maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Any activities within the program that do not have instructional time are not offered for continuing education credit. Course completion certificates will be awarded upon completion of course evaluations. Documentation must be retained by the Participant for a period of four years after the conclusion of this program.
This course is designed for all members of the healthcare team, specifically prescribers (including pharmacists), medical assistants, patient navigators, community health workers, health educators, and billing professionals.
Questions? Contact Lori.Osorio@UCSF.edu
Doxy-PEP: Doxycycline for STI Prevention
Pacific AETC-Bay Area, North & Central Coast in partnership with Santa Clara County Getting to Zero Initiative invites you to join us for
Doxy-PEP: Doxycycline for STI Prevention
December 11, 2023 | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
The Sobrato Center for Nonprofits 1400 Parkmoor Ave. San Jose, CA 95126 Conference Room: Cupertino A
Course Description:
This training will explore the current state of STIs and the emerging concerns and considerations for doxy-PEP for STI prevention and it’s use as it relates to PrEP for HIV prevention. Participants will discuss concerns about possible resistance to doxy-PEP and the cost-effectiveness of this approach to prevention.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify epidemiological patterns in sexually transmitted infections in Santa Clara County.
- Explain what doxy-PEP is and who can benefit from taking it.
- Identify the populations that are at greatest risk of contracting STIs for which doxy-PEP can help.
- Provide the necessary steps to prescribe doxy-PEP and monitor patients.
This course is designed for all members of the healthcare team, specifically prescribers (including pharmacists), medical assistants, patient navigators, community health workers, health educators, and billing professionals.
Continuing Education Information:
This course meets the qualifications for 1.5 contact hours of continuing education credit for nurses as required by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CPE 13741. Bay Area North & Central Coast AIDS Education & Training Center maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Any activities within the program that do not have instructional time are not offered for continuing education credit. Course completion certificates will be awarded upon completion of course evaluations. Documentation must be retained by the Participant for a period of four years after the conclusion of this program.
Questions? Contact Lori.Osorio@UCSF.edu
Recognizing our DIS
#DYK how hard-working DIS are? Disease Intervention Specialists have been the backbone of public health for nearly a century, yet a lot of people don’t even know about their role.
DIS identify, track, and prevent the transmission of infections: from syphilis and other STIs, to COVID-19 and mpox. They work in local health departments, community based organizations, and neighborhood clinics with the goal of improving sexual health outcomes (and sometimes other emerging infectious diseases!) and increasing sexual health education in our communities.
Make sure you thank a DIS today! #DISRecognitionDay #DISDay2023
|
Webinar: Mpox Update for Healthcare Providers
 |
|
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) continues to see statewide Mpox activity, including a large cluster in Los Angeles County. This webinar, presented by the California Prevention Training Center (CAPTC), features CDPH's Mpox Clinical and Epidemiology teams, who will provide a clinical update and epidemiological overview of Mpox, and discuss new research findings relevant to primary care and other healthcare providers, including data on transmission, vaccine equity, and vaccine effectiveness. A question-and-answer session will follow. 1.5 CME units will be offered at no cost (details below).
California Mpox Update for Healthcare Providers
Thursday, October 26, 2023 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM (PDT)
Learning Objectives
- Identify the clinical and epidemiological factors leading to Mpox infection, transmission, and severity as well as treatment options.
- Apply the latest information and research on Mpox, including transmission characteristics, vaccine equity, and vaccine effectiveness, to your clinical practice
|
|
|
World Contraception Day
September 26th was World Contraception Day, an opportunity to celebrate and uplift the essential role that contraception plays in our everyday lives, and recommit to doing everything possible to ensure access to birth control for all.
Last year, the Supreme Court's harmful decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion opened the doors to attacks on reproductive health care and the right to contraception - despite the fact that over 90 percent of people in the U.S. support birth control.
No matter where we live or what our circumstances are, everyone must have the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies and lives.
We know that more needs to be done to ensure that birth control remains affordable and accessible for ALL, including expanding access points and options, and countering misinformation tactics designed to deny and delay contraceptive care.
To address health inequities and challenges to access that remain, Essential Access Health will continue to:
- Work toward reproductive freedom and contraceptive equity in our policy priorities. Essential Access Health were proud to sponsor SB 523, the Contraceptive Equity Act. They also served as a member of the YES on Proposition 1 Campaign Committee to safeguard the right to abortion and birth control in California for generations to come. They also supported Hawaiʻi's SB 1 to enhance protections to reproductive health care, including birth control;
- Support the delivery of equitable, high quality, client-centered, and adolescent-friendly family planning services in partnership with statewide Title X family planning provider networks in California and Hawai‘i;
- Increase access to quality contraceptive care through telehealth + other innovative care models;
-
Enhance the capacity of the health care work force to provide comprehensive, high quality, and patient-centered contraceptive care;
- Engage, empower and center teen voices to raise awareness about birth control and provide linkages to services through our TeenSource programming and platforms; and
- Help bring new contraceptive methods and reproductive health technologies to market through their Research Center.
|
You can help Essential Access Health keep this critical work moving forward by making a donation to our Ensuring Access Fund. Your support will help ensure that everyone – regardless of income, zip code, race, sexual orientation, or health coverage or immigration status – has the freedom to access the sexual and reproductive care they want and need, with dignity and respect.
|
Annual LGBTQ+ Summit
You're invited!
The County of Santa Clara LGBTQ+ Summit is dedicated to promoting equity and belonging within traditionally underrepresented work industries. Our fifth annual summit brings together LGBTQ+ professionals, allies, and advocates to explore how the LGBTQ+ community can excel and make innovative contributions across various sectors.
Every work contribution, no matter how small or unconventional, plays a part in advancing the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, emphasizing the importance and validity of all forms of work and encouraging inclusion, collaboration, and the celebration of diversity within the LGBTQ+ movement. Through engaging discussions, panel sessions, and keynote speeches, summit attendees will gain valuable insights into the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in industries such as construction, food services, the arts, and more.
Join us Friday October 27, 2023 in empowering LGBTQ+ professionals to make their mark and inspire change in the workplace. All Work is Work, and together, we can achieve LGBTQ+ excellence in any field.
|
Recent Publications
Doxycycline improves outcomes of early syphilis in patients with HIV
Doxycycline in combination with single-dose benzathine penicillin G (BPG) for the treatment of early syphilis improves serologic responses among patients with HIV infection, according to study findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Single-dose BPG is recommended for the treatment of early syphilis, but poor serologic responses to this treatment regimen have been observed in patients with HIV infection.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate whether the addition of doxycycline to single-dose BPG improves serologic outcomes in HIV-positive patients with early syphilis. Eligible patients (N=570) included those who presented with early syphilis at the National Taiwan University Hospital between 2018 and 2022. Serologic responses were compared between HIV-positive patients who received either single-dose BPG alone (controls; n=347) or in combination with doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for 7 days (n=223). The primary outcome was the rate of serologic response at 12 months, defined as a 4-fold decrease in rapid plasma regain (RPR) titers from baseline.
Long-acting injectable version of the most popular HIV drug combination is possible
Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle say they have cracked the challenge of creating a long-acting injectable form of the world’s most commonly prescribed antiretroviral combination, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir, often known as TLD.
But the drawback is that the long-acting formulation only lasts for one month.
Reporting their findings in the journal AIDS, Professor Rodney Ho and colleagues explain how they have been able to combine two different types of compounds – those that are soluble in water and those that aren’t – in one formulation using a technique called drug-combination nanoparticle technology.
Poor Air Quality Safety Tips
This time of year, air quality is impacted by wildfires in Northern California and Oregon. Poor air quality can make people sick, but there are steps you can take to protect your health.
Poor Air Quality Safety Tips:
-
Stay indoors with doors and windows closed
-
Stay informed – know where to find local air quality information. Sites such as AirNow are a good resource that provide real time data.
-
Minimize outside activity when possible
-
Use indoor air purifiers to clean the air and reduce indoor pollutants; stay away from air purifiers that clean air by generating ozone because they increase the pollution in your home.
-
Make your own air purifier by using low-cost items such as a square box fan and a MERV 13 or higher filter that can be found at most home supply stores. Directions can be found at Safer Air - Public Health - County of Santa Clara (sccgov.org)
-
Recirculate the air in your home and car to avoid taking in air from outside
- In extreme conditions, wear a tight-fitting (N-95 mask) mask to help keep fine particles out of the air you breathe
-
Avoid activities that create smoke or other particles indoors, such as smoking
See the flyer below for more key information!
Our Programs and Services
PrEP/PEP Navigation Services
We offer free and confidential services including:
- PrEP/PEP counseling and navigation services
- Support to start PrEP
- Linkage to a primary care provider if needed
- Assistance in accessing programs that help cover the cost of medication partially or in full
- Referrals
Submit a referral below to begin the process:
HIV & Aging Program
The Getting to Zero HIV and Aging Program aims to address care gaps for people living with HIV who are over the age of 50 in Santa Clara County by connecting and linking individuals to needed the clinical and non-clinical services.
Join our program by filling out the referral form linked below:
Clinical Health Education
Our team provides clinical health education on HIV, STIs, Hepatitis C and Mpox. Clinical health education is available on an individual or group training basis, depending on your preference. We can also provide resource materials for providers and patients upon request. If you are interested in requesting these services, the referral form is linked below:
Scan the QR code below to get connected to our services
Join a committee and get involved!
Governance Team
The Governance Team is the governing body of the Getting to Zero program. It comprises of leaders representing a range of community organizations within the County and is responsible for helping set the strategic direction of the initiative and oversee and track program activities and services.
PrEP/PEP Access Committee
The focus of this committee is on building PrEP provider capacity within the community, including organizing trainings focused on integrating PrEP screening within clinical practice, prescribing PrEP, and implementing effective outreach strategies.
HIV & Aging Program Committee
The HIV and Aging Program aims to assess community needs and collaboratively plan our program. The HIV & Aging program will provide clinical and non-clinical services to anyone who is living or working in Santa Clara County 50 years and older living with HIV.
If you are interested in joining any of our committees or would like more information about them, please email us at GettingtoZeroSCC@phd.sccgov.org or visit our website: www.gettingtozeroscc.org
Interested in Joining the Countywide Condom Distribution Program?
This program is administered through the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program. To start receiving free condoms and lubricant at your site, please e-mail
HIVPrevention@phd.sccgov.org.
We will send you a form to complete and send to the State Office of AIDS (OA) for approval. Once approved, OA will send you a re-usable electronic order form and you will be able to order directly from the State (free of charge) on a monthly basis.
If interested and applicable, please also do the following:
1) Add your venue to the condom finder map on http://www.teensource.org/condoms/free by e-mailing STDprograms@essentialaccess.org and with a request to be added.
2) If your agency is interested in receiving a condom dispenser for your venue, take a look at http://www.totalaccessgroup.com/, send an email to HIVPrevention@phd.sccgov.org with your preference, and specify where in the venue it will be displayed and accessible to your clients.
In alignment with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the Office of AIDS’ Condom Distribution Program focuses on the following populations:
• People living with HIV/AIDS
• Partners of people living with HIV/AIDS
• Transgender individuals
• Gay men and men who have sex with men
• Injection drug users
• Sex workers
• Sexual and needle-sharing partners of gay men
• Women at high risk of acquiring HIV via sexual partners
|
Order your FREE HIV & STI Home Test Kits!
When you know your #HIV status you have the power to take control of your health. Let’s #StopHIVTogether.
It is a pleasure to announce that California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS (CDPH-OA) is expanding their OraQuick HIV self-test kits to all counties, including Santa Clara County, in California, through the Building Healthy Online Communities: Take Me Home program (BHOC-TMH).
Order your test kit here: www.takemehome.org
#StopHIVTogether #MyTestMyWay #HIVTesting #HIVTestingDay #HIVAwareness #TestingTogether #HIVTesting #HIVSelfTest #SelfTest #KnowYourStatus #GetTested #HIVtestmyway
|
Resources
|
