The 2018 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care and Treatment takes place next week just outside of Washington, DC, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. HIV.gov will be there, sharing coverage from the conference and offering social media technical assistance to attendees.

The biennial conference is sponsored and organized by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), which administers the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP). It is the largest national conference for comprehensive HIV care and treatment providers, RWHAP recipients, and other stakeholders. Over 4,000 participants are expected this year.

The 2018 conference theme, Catalyzing Success: Advancing Innovation. Leveraging Data. Ending the HIV Epidemic., recognizes the RWHAP’s commitment to the national goals for ending the HIV epidemic. These goals include:

• Decreasing new HIV infections
• Reducing HIV-related health disparities
• Improving access to HIV care and treatment without stigma and discrimination
• Achieving a more coordinated national response

Some of the HIV.gov team will be on hand to lend support to this important conference. We’ll provide daily coverage here on the blog and via Facebook Live interviews and social media updates for those not able to attend. For conference attendees, we’ll offer a Social Media Lab. Get more details below and stay tuned!

Conference Coverage: Blogs, Interviews and Social Media

We realize that many interested stakeholders may not be able to attend the conference, so we’ll be sharing highlights from the conference next week and in the week that follows.

• Blog: On the blog, we will be sharing daily conference highlights prepared by HRSA/HAB as well as several other conference-related items.
• Facebook Live: In addition, we’ll bring you a number of Facebook Live interviews from the conference with HRSA/HAB leadership and others. Here’s the schedule as of now:

Wednesday, December 12   

1:00 PM: Update on the latest data from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program with HRSA/HAB’s Heather Hauck and Antigone Dempsey

Thursday, December 13

1:00 PM: A conversation with HRSA/HAB’s Dr. Laura Cheever and Harold Phillips about integrating information about viral suppression and treatment as prevention into the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

3:30 PM: A discussion about jurisdictional approaches to ending the HIV epidemic with HRSA’s Steven Young and CDC’s Janet Cleveland

Friday, December 14   

1:00 PM Closing reflections from HRSA’s Dr. Laura Cheever on innovative models of HIV care and treatment discussed at the 2018 National Ryan White Conference

Follow us on FacebookExit Disclaimer and TwitterExit Disclaimer for more information and any schedule changes.

• Social Media: We also will be sharing information from the conference via FacebookExit Disclaimer, TwitterExit Disclaimer, and InstagramExit Disclaimer. Follow the conversation with #RyanWhite2018Exit Disclaimer.

Social Media Lab for Conference Participants

The Social Media Lab is open for all attendees to get personalized social media assistance. Drop-in for a 1-on-1 session (approximately 15 minutes) with our social media experts. If you’ve been wondering how to reach more clients and retain them, easily create simple educational graphics, use social media to save money on outreach, or how to use Twitter and Snapchat to reach clients, we can help. You have social media questions; the HIV.gov team and our expert partners have answers.

• Location: Exhibit Hall, booth #1

• Lab Hours:
  • Wednesday, December 12: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Thursday, December 13: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Note: If you can’t make it to the Social Media Lab during the conference, HIV.gov can still help! Get social media questions answered via Virtual Office Hours. Book your appointment.