Foothill Aids Project

HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS

STRENGTHENING HIV DATA INTEGRATION AND QUALITY FOR IMPROVED CARE - FOOTHILL AIDS PROJECT (FAP) PROVIDES BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, HOUSING, AND OTHER WRAP-AROUND SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME PEOPLE WITH HIV ACROSS THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES: SAN BERNARDINO, RIVERSIDE, AND LOS ANGELES. FAP IS REQUESTING $149,375 TO SUPPORT AN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD AND DATA COORDINATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT. THE VAST MAJORITY (94.4%) OF OUR CLIENTS LIVE AT OR BELOW 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. AFTER IMPLEMENTING A NEW ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD (EHR) IN 2024, A CASCADE OF DATA CHALLENGES EMERGED DUE TO THE LACK OF DATA SHARING AND COMMUNICATION (INTEROPERABILITY) BETWEEN THE EHR AND THE STATE’S RYAN WHITE PART B DATABASE, WHICH IS ALSO USED BY FAP’S PART A GRANTEE. AS A RESULT, FAP HAS MAINTAINED A PAPER-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM AND NEEDED STAFF TO DO DUAL DATA ENTRY INTO BOTH DATABASES UNTIL A LONGER-TERM SOLUTION BECAME AVAILABLE. BEING ABLE TO EASILY TRACK CLIENT DATA THROUGH THE EXISTING SYSTEMS IS DIFFICULT. CURRENTLY, MANUAL DATA TRACKING LEADS TO DELAYS IN TRACKING CLIENTS WHO ARE NOT VIRALLY SUPPRESSED, HAVE FALLEN OUT OF CARE, OR ARE INACTIVE. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, FAP WILL PARTNER WITH RDE SYSTEMS SUPPORT GROUP, LLC TO INSTALL THEIR E2 HIV DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO SERVE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE EHR AND CALIFORNIA’S HIV DATABASE. IN ADDITION, FAP WILL PURCHASE TABLETS THAT WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH THE EHR SO THAT FAP WILL RETIRE ITS PAPER-BASED DATA COLLECTION, MOVING ENTIRELY TO AN ELECTRONICALLY BASED PROCESS. EXPECTED SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES OVER THE 12-MONTH PROJECT PERIOD INCLUDE SEAMLESS HIV REPORTING WITH BOTH RYAN WHITE PART A AND PART B; ELIMINATION OF THE DUAL DATA ENTRY BURDEN ON STAFF; INCREASED STAFF AND CLIENT SATISFACTION, IMPROVED DATA QUALITY AND ENHANCED ABILITY TO TRACK CLIENT HEALTH DATA WITH EASE. THIS WILL LEAD TO HIGHER QUALITY OF CARE AND IMPROVED HEALTH OUTCOMES OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE WITH HIV.

RYAN WHITE TITLE III HIV CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING GRANTS - ORGANIZATION ADDRESS: 678 S. INDIAN HILL BLVD., SUITE 220, CLAREMONT, CA 91711 PROJECT DIRECTOR NAME: TAELYR PATTON, LCSW CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: VOICE: 909-884-2722 X 222 FAX: 909-884-2732 EMAIL ADDRESS: TAELYRP@FAPINFO.ORG WEBSITE: HTTPS://FAPINFO.ORG/ FOOTHILL AIDS PROJECT (FAP) IS APPLY FOR FUNDS UNDER THE CATEGORY: INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: TELEHEALTH. FAP IS REQUESTING $142,749 IN GRANT FUNDS TO SUPPORT THIS ONE-YEAR PROJECT. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED ACTIVITY AND INTENDED IMPACT FAP IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED HIV COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION SERVING THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES: RIVERSIDE COUNTY, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY’S SERVICE PLANNING AREAS (SPAS) 3 (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY) AND 7 (EAST LOS ANGELES). NEARLY TWO-THIRDS (74.4%) OF FAP’S SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY CLIENTS ARE PWH WHO LIVE WITHIN AREAS DESIGNATED AS RURAL. FAP SERVES A MARGINALIZED POPULATION, INCLUDING PWH WHO ARE HOMELESS AND THOSE WHO HAVE MENTAL HEALTH AND/OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. DUE TO THE MORE RURAL NATURE OF OUR CLIENTS IN RIVERSIDE AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES, WE WILL PILOT THE PROPOSED TELEHEALTH PROJECT IN THESE COUNTIES; IN 2022 WE SERVED 733 CLIENTS IN THIS REGION. FAP WILL PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENT ECLINICAL WORKS, A HIPAA SECURE AND CMS-CERTIFIED ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD (EMR), WHICH HAS A ROBUST TELEHEALTH CAPABILITY SEAMLESSLY EMBEDDED WITHIN THE PLATFORM. THIS WILL CREATE A BRAND-NEW ABILITY FOR US TO DELIVER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO CLIENTS ROUTINELY FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR HOME, WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY’S HIGH DESERT AREA. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE TWO WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VANS, THEY SERVE ONLY SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND THE DEMAND FOR TRANSPORTATION EXCEEDS THEIR AVAILABILITY. FURTHER, THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY HIGH IN THESE TWO COUNTIES. WE HAVE HAD STAFF CHURNING IN THIS D EPARTMENT AS STAFF INITIALLY WORK WITH US TO GAIN THEIR CLINICAL HOURS FOR LICENSURE, AND ONCE THEY ARE LICENSED, THEY LEAVE FOR HIGHER PAYING POSITIONS OR TO BEGIN THEIR OWN PRIVATE PRACTICES. MORE AND MORE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PERSONNEL ARE CHOOSING TO WORK FROM HOME, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT QUALIFIED STAFF. CURRENTLY, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES ARE THE MOST USED SERVICE NATIONALLY VIA TELEHEALTH. THUS, HAVING TELEHEALTH WILL NOT ONLY PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH A NEW WAY TO ACCESS SERVICES, BUT IT WILL GIVE US A NEW WAY TO RECRUIT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH STAFF, BEING ABLE TO OFFER REMOTE WORK FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME, MAKING US MORE COMPETITIVE IN THIS CHANGING ENVIRONMENT.