The goal of this initiative is to develop systems and programs to increase retention and re-engagement in care and increase viral suppression among people living with HIV in San Francisco. Given our local HIV epidemic, we believe that the following individuals should be a focus of our efforts:
- Individuals with co-occurring conditions such as homelessness, mental health issues, and substance use that may challenge their ability to consistently engage in HIV care and treatment
- Youth, African American and Latino men and women, transgender persons, and the uninsured
- Individuals with a pattern of missed appointments or who begin to miss appointments
- Individuals who are not virally suppressed, with a priority on people with low CD4 counts and other co-morbidities
Under the leadership and coordination of a steering group, this work will be achieved by:
- Implementing standards of care for effective retention by providers (e.g., routine update of patient contact information, appointment reminder phone calls, follow-up for missed appointments, check-in calls for high-risk patients, communication with SFDPH surveillance to identify if patients have transferred care or left jurisdiction)
- Assuring that case managers are playing an active role in assuring medical appointment attendance of their clients, and assuring access by case managers to appointment databases
- Creating a comprehensive, citywide linkage program to identify patients falling out of care as early as possible and conduct early follow-up
- Developing a system for better provider-to-provider communication as patients transfer care between clinics and systems of care (public and private)
- Creating a care navigation hotline to provide assistance to out-of-care clients
- Coordinating surveillance data and medical records systems to better support providers and clinics to accurately identify and outreach to out-of-care patients
- Expanding housing, mental health, and substance abuse treatment to support linkage, retention, and re-engagement of patients
- Conducting program evaluation research to identify successful strategies for retention
Retention & Re-engagement Resources
SF HIV FOG presents poster at 2018 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment
SF HIV FOG’s abstract “Organizing the HIV Frontline Worker Community” was accepted for poster presentation at the December 2018 Ryan White Conference. To download the poster, click here. If you’d like more information about SF HIV FOG, please visit here or contact Dawn Evinger (Dawn.Evinger@prcsf.org)
[HIV ReConnect] Brochure for Providers & Frontline Workers: HIV navigation can help
If you have questions, please contact Andy Scheer (andy.scheer@sfdph.org), Co-Chair of Retention & Re-engagement Committee.
[HIV ReConnect] HIV Navigation Options in SF
A list of HIV Navigation programs in SF that can help re/connect people to care.
Retention News & Updates
PRC’s GTZ Employment Services Program Annual Report
By Joe Ramirez-Forcier, Managing Director, Employment Services at PRC In 2017 PRC’s Employment Services Program, a San Francisco based San Francisco Department of Public Health funded program, was inspired by their community collaborations with San Francisco’s “Getting to Zero” (GTZ) Retention and Re-engagement Committee. San Francisco’s Getting to Zero initiative is a multi-sector, independent consortium operating under…
Getting to Zero Advertisements Around Town
Muni busses and light rail vehicles are the new canvasses for Getting to Zero’s latest project: an awareness campaign. These ads, which were created by Positive Resource Center, discuss the rising cost of HIV treatment and the ways people living with HIV in San Francisco can access care without breaking the bank. According to the…
MAC AIDS visit with the LINCS Navigation Team
November 13, a representative from the MAC AIDS Foundation met the LINCS Navigation Team, including the 3 newly minted MAC AIDS Navigators who work at Ward 86, Tom Waddell, and Castro-Mission. A former LINCS client also joined the meeting to share his experience working with a navigator, getting back into care, and starting culinary school! See the slides here: Presentation for…
The Importance of Remembering Social Drivers of HIV/AIDS
By Austin Padilla I recently had the privilege of representing San Francisco’s Getting to Zero Consortium, along with my colleague Dr. Oliver Bacon, at the 2015 North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit in Washington, D.C. The amount of other people and jurisdictions coming together for the common causes – and appropriately themed title of…
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