Ryan White Newsletter Spring 2015

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Spring 2015


IN THIS ISSUE


CONTACT US

Ryan White Program
Hennepin County Public Health Department
525 Portland Ave., 3rd Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55415 
612.348.5964
Email us 


ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

The Ryan White Provider Newsletter is issued semi-annually and provides information about HIV services planning, contract administration, quality management, CAREWare updates and training opportunities.  Your feedback and suggestions for future issues are appreciated. 

Contact Thuan Tran


2015 and Beyond

We hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring and has had a chance to take a break from the intense work that you do on behalf of your patients and clients. 

In this issue we report on important planning and service delivery work and introduce you to our new Quality Management Coordinator, Emily Dale. 

Emily Dale

Emily Dale

Also, don’t miss Thuan Tran’s report on the African American Gay/Bi/MSM workgroup and the summit that they convened in April. This workgroup will help inform how we use Ryan White and state HIV prevention resources to meet the needs of one of the most disproportionately impacted populations in our community.

Thank you for attending the Hennepin County contracted providers meeting in May and for providing us with feedback on the meeting. 

We also appreciate your work in providing quality client-level data through CAREWare reporting for the annual Ryan White Services Report (RSR) that we submitted to HRSA in March. Nationwide, 99% of Ryan White grantees and subgrantees submitted their RSR data on time. Each grantee will now receive RSR summary report that assesses the impact of Ryan White Program funding across the country. 

Preliminary CAREWare data for 2014 indicate that 83 percent of Minnesota’s Ryan White Program recipients were up-to-date on their HIV medical care, a statistic which attests to the incredible success of our Minnesota HIV service providers. An updated list of Hennepin County Ryan White contracted providers is included. Watch for our next Request for Proposals (RFP) for most of the services we fund to be released in early September.

Finally, we ask for your help in promoting the Planning Council’s 2015 Consumer Needs Assessment. Data from the assessment will inform HIV services planning for the next five years. Make sure your clients are adequately represented in this assessment, especially those from disproportionately impacted communities. Please see Sirry Alang’s piece on the assessment and how you and your clients can be involved. 

Brett

Brett Burnham, a doctorate student at Columbia University, is interning with the Ryan White Program this summer.

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African American Gay/Bi/MSM Workgroup and Summit

Men 2

African American gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gay/bi/MSM) experience a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. African Americans accounted for 20 percent of new infections in 2014 while making up only four percent of the total population (Minnesota Department of Health, 2014). Overall, male-to-male sex continues to be the greatest transmission risk, accounting for 66 percent of new cases. 

The National Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC), Minnesota HIV Services Planning Council, Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Health and Hennepin County Ryan White Program have engaged HIV care and prevention experts to develop a response to this community health crisis. 

This capacity building effort would not be possible without the involvement of community leaders on the workgroup. A special thank you to: Michael Hargrave, MN HIV Services Planning Council; David (Midnight) Tomlinson, MN HIV Services Planning Council; Antoine Jefferson, African American AIDS Task Force; Rev. DeWayne Davis, All God’s Children MCC; Bill L. Larson, Allina Health; Belinda Charleston-Green, Minnesota AIDS Project; William Grier, Hennepin County Public Health Red Door Clinic; Kevin Moore, Pillsbury United Community; and Valerie Smith-Brown, Youth and AIDS Project.

OMHRC conducted a community assessment that included key informant interviews in January and group discussions during the February summit. The findings will guide improvements in HIV prevention, treatment and supportive services for African America gay/bi/MSM in Minnesota. Through individual interviews with members of this community, we gained insights on how to provide culturally appropriate services, increase health care access and retention, and decrease health care barriers. The key informant interviews were designed to gather data for the final report, inform the development of the African American gay/bi/MSM Sexual Health Summit on HIV, and spur targeted action among summit participants.

OMHRC conducted 20 interviews with African American gay and bisexual men; 16 participants were living with HIV/AIDS. Interviews focused on participants’ experiences as an African American gay/bi man; access to medical information and care, especially HIV-related; provider/client interactions; prohibitive and facilitating factors for access to health services; and recommendations for improving health and well-being.

Click here for a summary of the community assessment results

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2015 Consumer Needs Assessment

The Minnesota HIV Services Planning Council collects survey data about the needs of people in Minnesota living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The results inform how the council prioritizes services, allocates Ryan White Part A and B funds -- and which federal grant applications we apply for. The 2015 Needs Assessment Survey has just been launched, and it's important that your clients participate. In the past, the Planning Council has struggled to collect enough responses from PLWHA who are African-born, Latino/a, African American, or are youth. The survey is available at: http://mhspc.e2community.com/

We expect the survey to take clients approximately 30 minutes to complete, and they will receive a $10 gift card for completing it.  Please help spread the word about the survey by:

  • Posting fliers and distributing survey business cards
  • Allowing a Planning Council ambassador to conduct surveys at your agency
  • Reinforcing to your clients how important it is that their voice is heard

If you are interested in receiving promotional materials (fliers and business cards) or having a Planning Council ambassador at your agency, support group, or event to assist with conducting the survey, please contact Sirry Alang, sirry.alang@hennepin.us or Carissa Weisdorf, carissa.weisdorf@hennepin.us. Or call 612.596.7894 or 888.638.3224.

We are also looking forward to the new community planning body for HIV prevention and treatment services that will be seated in 2016.  Here are some updates and steps in the process:

  • Direct Stakeholders (Planning Council and CCCHAP) decided to create a new planning body that plans for both prevention and treatment. CDC and Ryan White Part A and B grantees have secured resources for this effort and have created a project definition.
  • An integrated planning workgroup consisting of grantees and staff from the Planning Council and CCCHAP meet biweekly to build the process.
  • The workgroup has talked to other jurisdictions, reviewed the HRSA and CDC community planning requirements, and identified requirements within the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). This information will be used to create bylaws for the new planning body.
  • Integrated planning updates and standing agenda items of the Planning Council and CCCHAP were created.
  • Facilitated conversations were conducted at the Planning Council and CCCHAP meetings to get feedback.

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Contracting News

Contract management services has a new manager

The contract management services Area Manager, Dawn Davis, has recently accepted a promotion to Senior Department Administrator. Jessica Simon-Koch has accepted a promotion to Human Services Area Manager to fill Dawn’s position. We wish Dawn the best in her new endeavors and welcome Jessica to contract management!

New survey

We’ve updated our provider satisfaction survey for contracted providers. The new survey can be completed in just a few minutes. Watch for the next quarterly survey in June. If you’d like to connect before then, email hsphpartners@hennepin.us.

Contracting information sessions

We offer contracting information sessions  to support the ability of contracted providers to meet contracting requirements. Pre-registration is required. To pre-register, email hsphpartners@hennepin.us with the names of attendees, their email addresses and a contact telephone number. You will receive a follow-up email confirming your registration. 

HSPHD financial reporting: using the budget workbook

Learn about budget reporting standards and how to use the Contract Management Services budget workbook. This session is intended for financial and accounting staff at organizations that have a current contract with the Human Services and Public Health Department. No need to RSVP to this session.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Brookdale Library
6125 Shingle Creek Parkway
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Brookdale Library map

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Hennepin County Administered 2015 Ryan White Services and Providers

Early Intervention

  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part A

Emergency Financial Assistance

  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A and Part B

Food Bank/Home-Delivered Meals

  • Aliveness - food shelf & on-site meals - Part A
  • Minnesota AIDS Project - food vouchers - Part A and Part B
  • Open Arms - home delivered meals - Part A
  • Rural AIDS Action Network - food vouchers - Part B

Health Education/Risk Reduction

  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part A
  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A
  • Rural AIDS Action Network - Part B
  • West Side - Part A

Health Insurance Premiums

  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A and Part B

Home & Community Based Health

  • Pinnacle - Part A

Housing - Rental Assistance

  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A and Part B

Legal

  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A and Part B

Medical Case Management (MCM)

  • African American AIDS Task Force - Part A
  • Allina - Part A
  • Children's Hospitals and Clinics of MN - Part A
  • HealthPartners - Part A
  • Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation - Part A
  • West Side - Part A

MCM - Adult Foster Care

  • Allina - Part A

MCM - Treatment Adherence

  • Allina - Part A
  • HCMC - Part A

Medical Nutrition Therapy

  • Aliveness - Part A and Part B
  • HCMC - Part A

Medical Transportation

  • African American AIDS Task Force - Part B
  • Aliveness - Part B
  • Allina - Part B
  • HealthPartners - Part B
  • HCMC - Part B
  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part B
  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part B
  • Rural AIDS Action Network - Part B
  • Sub-Saharan African Youth & Family Svs of MN - Part A
  • West Side - Part B

Mental Health

  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part A
  • HCMC - Part A
  • Rural AIDS Action Network - Part B
  • Sub-Saharan African Youth & Family Svs of MN - Part A
  • West Side - Part A

Oral Health

  • DHS - Part A

 Outpatient & Ambulatory Medical Care

  • HealthPartners - Part A
  • HCMC- Part A
  • West Side - Part A

Outreach

  • Aliveness- Part A and Part B (peer)
  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part A

Psychosocial Support

  • African American AIDS Task Force - Part A
  • Hennepin County Public Health Clinic - Part A
  • Sub-Saharan African Youth & Family Svs of MN - Part A
  • West Side - Part A

Substance Abuse Treatment - Outpatient

  • Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation- Part A
  • Minnesota AIDS Project - Part A

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Quality Management News

Hennepin County’s new Ryan White Quality Management Coordinator, Emily Dale, started work on March 9. Emily is excited to share her expertise in global health, public health, and quality improvement. Emily will focus on managing the Part A quality management plan by facilitating QI efforts with Ryan White providers, and by coordinating the Quality Management Advisory Committee (QMAC).  

Emily HeartLink

Emily conducts a QI project in China for her old job with Children's HeartLink.

The quality management program is in full swing for FY2015! QMAC met in February and April, discussing where MN services fall on the MN HIV Treatment Cascade and what implications the cascade and services will have on QMAC 2015 quality goals. Emily interviewed QMAC members to plan for 2015 QMAC activities, and brought the results to the QMAC discussion in April.

A huge thank you goes out to all providers for submitting their individual FY2015 QI work plans by the April 15 deadline.

Emily’s QI Tip of the Month: “Perfection” is NOT the goal. The goal is “Progress.” 

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