Ryan White newsletter winter 2019

ryan white

December 2019

In this issue

Upcoming survey of the needs of people with HIV

The Minnesota Council for HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention council, together with the DHS HIV/AIDS Unit and the Hennepin County Ryan White Program, is preparing to launch the 2020 HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Needs Assessment. Available online, the survey launches in February 2020 with a target of reaching 664 individuals to complete the survey. We will need the help of everyone involved in the HIV system of care in our area to ensure the voices of people with HIV in Minnesota and Pierce and St. Croix counties in Wisconsin are heard.

The goals of the survey are to:

  • Survey a large enough sample size to draw statistically significant conclusions about defined subpopulations of people with HIV
  • Provide information on the social determinants of health for these subpopulations
  • Identify met, unmet, and/or under-met service needs of people with HIV

The results of the survey will be posted on the council’s website after data collection and analysis concludes in early fall of 2020. The results will inform the council’s decisions around service area priorities, funding, and comprehensive planning for the next five years. DHS and Hennepin County will use the results to develop the integrated jurisdiction plan and the Statewide Coordinated Statement of Need (SCSN), which are guides on how to meet the needs of people with HIV in our area.

Watch for additional information about the survey and how you can be involved in promoting the survey to your clients and networks. For additional information, please contact Carissa Weisdorf, council coordinator, at Carissa.Weisdorf@hennepin.us or 612-348-6827.

Ryan White 1

Only six weeks left! Apply for the next term on the Minnesota Council for HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention

Ryan White 2

Membership benefits:

  • Help people affected by and at risk for HIV
    • Improve services and access to care
    • Represent an underserved community or population
    • Create service standards of care
  • Get personal and professional benefits
    • Increase your awareness of HIV prevention, treatment, and services
    • Establish contacts and networks
    • Receive numerous training opportunities
  • Be a voice in program planning and implementation
    • Help determine the needs of populations living with, at risk for, or affected by HIV
    • Learn about and collaborate on HIV funding decisions
Ryan White 3

Apply today at https://survey.vovici.com/se/56206EE37A2EDC11

Questions? Email HIVcouncil@hennepin.us or call 612-348-6827

Integration of cultural responsiveness standards to eliminate HIV-related disparities

The Hennepin County Ryan White Program’s primary goal is to eradicate HIV and in order to achieve this, we must prioritize disparities elimination. Despite tremendous advances in HIV prevention and care, disparities persist in racial and gender/sexuality minoritized populations in the areas of HIV incidence, prevalence, and health outcomes. As we look forward to 2020, Hennepin County’s Ryan White Program planners will continue to seek collaborative partnerships with stakeholders and content experts to accomplish our shared efforts of eliminating HIV-related disparities. Many of the Ryan White provider staff fall into both categories and your involvement was key in the following 2019 successes:

  • People of color and minoritized gender/sexuality groups have achieved better health outcomes within the Ryan White system of care
  • Culturally responsive standards have been fully implemented and integrated, not only in the provision of Ryan White services, but throughout the Ryan White system of care, including in our administration of Ryan White grants
  • We’ve completed our large request for proposals (RFP) cycle, and the scoring placed a higher weight on cultural responsiveness and disparities elimination. The successful applicants demonstrated competency with serving diverse communities, and most importantly, communities experiencing disparities, through evidence-based practice, data analysis, and outcomes.

As we look forward to 2020, we are excited for new opportunities to partner and accomplish more towards disparities elimination. The following are just a few of the projects we are looking forward to implementing:

  • Integrate the Center for Quality Improvement and Innovation (CQII)’s Health Disparities Calculator (HDC) into all aspects of program planning. The tool is intended for each Ryan White grantee to assess disparities in their own jurisdiction. Full information can be found on the tool here: https://www.targethiv.org/library/health-disparities-calculator.
  • Evaluate the culturally responsive standards and identify opportunities for improvement
  • Evaluate past community engagement efforts and explore new opportunities and ways to engage stakeholders in our disparities elimination work

The work of disparities reduction cannot be accomplished without your involvement. If you have questions or ideas, please reach out to Jeremy Stadelman at Jeremy.Stadelman@hennepin.us or Thuan Tran at Thuan.Tran@hennepin.us.

Where to start in quality project planning?

Do you struggle with identifying where your organization needs to improve? One way is to review the eight wastes from the lean approach of quality improvement. Check out these eight wastes and see if your organization has any of them going on. Then include them in your 2020 quality improvement plan! Contact Anika.Kaleewoun@hennepin.us for help planning your next QI project.

Ryan White 6

About us

The Ryan White newsletter is issued semiannually and provides information about HIV services planning, contract administration, quality managment, CAREWare updates and training opportunities. Your feedback and suggestions for future issues are appreciated.

Contact us

612-543-4237

ryann.freeman@hennepin.us

Follow us

facebooktwitterinstagramyoutubelinked in
Hennepin County