P0647285

Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grants - Applicant Organization: Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe
Project Director Name: Salvador Balcorta, MSW, Chief Executive Officer
Contact Phone Number: (915) 534-7979
Fax Number: (915) 534-7601
Email Address: salvador.balcorta@lafe-ep.org
Website Address: www.lafe-ep.org

Project Title: FY 2022 RWHAP Part C Capacity Development Program
Funding Category: HIV Care Innovation
Funds Requested: $150,000

Summary of Proposed Activities:

Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe (La Fe) is a network of Joint Commission accredited - Federally Qualified Health Centers that has been providing Ryan White Part C Early Intervention Services to the US/Mexico border community of El Paso, Texas, and the El Paso/West Texas HIV/AIDS Service Delivery Area (HSDA), since 1990.

La Fe is submitting an HIV Care Innovation: Integration of HIV Primary Care with Behavioral Health Project under funding opportunity #HRSA-22-019. The purpose of the proposal is to integrate the onsite delivery of behavioral health services into La Fe's established holistic model of HIV care. This new onsite service is projected to improve the quality of care provided to its 700 registered patients and improve its retention-in-care and viral suppression continuum of care outcomes through improved HIV care adherence.

La Fe Care Center is the applicant's dedicated HIV and Ryan White Act service-delivery site and is in the process of adding a mental health professional to its HIV services staffing. This new staff member will facilitate the delivery of a more holistic approach to the care center's current continuum of onsite HIV services through the delivery of mental health assessments and services that will significantly enhance its diagnostic assessment and services capacity as an integral part of its onsite HIV model of care. The bilingual staff member has been recruited and is in the process of joining the care center's ambulatory HIV primary care staff.

With this application, La Fe proposes to use the one-year funding to integrate these behavioral health services within its onsite HIV service-delivery model. This funding would be targeted at ensuring the integration of these services contributes to a seamless primary care model that incorporates a behavioral health team approach. This process would include finalizing the policies and procedures necessary to facilitate the onsite provision of behavioral health services, as opposed to contract offsite services.

We project staff training will also be part of this process in order to develop an efficient workflow and a process to track and coordinate onsite services and referrals with external providers, when applicable. These key steps will assist the care center to ensure the integrated services have a measurable impact on the center's quality of services, continuum of care, and patient outcomes, especially for patients with behavioral health barriers to care compliance.

The project will also address the US-Mexico border region's disparity of the severe shortage of behavioral health providers, especially those that offer language appropriate and culturally relevant services in order to address the barriers of cultural stigma and language isolation. The project is therefore in full support of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the Ending the HIV Epidemic National Initiative. No funding preference is requested.

Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe

NOT APPLICABLE

93.918 - Grants to Provide Outpatient Early Intervention Services with Respect to HIV Disease

HRSA Office of Federal Assistance Management (OFAM) [HHS - HRSA]

City Of El Paso, Texas United States

City-Wide

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C Capacity Development Program (HRSA-22-019)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have decreased 28% from $150,000 to $107,864.