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An independent procurement panel
convened by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation on behalf of the US Department of
Health and Human Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Health has awarded
funding to ActionAIDS for the Prison Linkage Program. The funding comes from
the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, which strives to remove racial and ethnic
disparities in health by providing beneficial education services to persons
with HIV/AIDS who are from racial and ethnic minority groups. The grant will be
applied to a four-month program, with more funds to be granted for ongoing programming.
The ActionAIDS Prison Linkage
Program will offer case management services to those with HIV/AIDS who are
imprisoned or who have been released from the Philadelphia county prison
system. The program works with the Philadelphia county jails to help people
with HIV/AIDS access medical care, social services, and support. The program
will focus on problems of timely referral and retention of clients after their
release from prison, which is a crucial and challenging time. The Prison
Linkage Program staff will concentrate on developing relationships with prison
health providers, clients, the criminal justice system, and other community
agencies. According to Action AIDS, formerly incarcerated clients face huge
challenges and barriers to accessing care and staying in care. “By ensuring
continuity of medical care, ActionAIDS reduces the development of
drug-resistant HIV, decreases sexual risk behaviors, and, as patients in
treatment maintain low or non-detectible viral loads, the risk of HIV
transmission to others is reduced or eliminated,” declares ActionAIDS.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
