Health Centers Provide HIV Services to More than 600,000 People in EHE Jurisdictions in Just 8 Months
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Health centers across the nation achieved significant results in HIV testing, linkage to care, and PrEP starts in the first several months of their work as partners in the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. In February 2020, 195 health centers in the 57 EHE jurisdictions received a total of $54 million in supplemental resources under the Primary Care HIV Prevention funding opportunity. This first-of-its-kind funding supports health centers to expand outreach, partnerships, and their workforce to increase HIV testing, increase access to and use of PrEP, and link individuals who test positive for HIV to treatment. (View a list of the 195 health centers by state.)
Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Health Care indicate that within the first eight months of award (March-November 2020):
- 93% of the health centers hired dedicated staff for a total of 389 full-time equivalent employees working on HIV outreach, testing, linkage to care and treatment, and PrEP services
- Over 573,000 individuals were tested for HIV
- 2,260 individuals tested positive for HIV and received follow-up within 30 days
- Nearly 50,000 individuals at health centers were prescribed PrEP