Q&A
Collaboration between DOHMH and HRA/DSS on HIV/AIDS services
0:55:44
ยท
4 min
Council Member Schulman asks about the collaboration between DOHMH and HRA/DSS on HIV/AIDS services. Sarah Braunstein and John Rojas describe their joint efforts:
- Robust collaboration exists since 2007
- DOHMH uses surveillance data to identify people disengaged from HIV care
- Twice-yearly data matches with HASA client list to assess care status and viral suppression
- Outreach to facilitate relinkage to care for disengaged clients
- Checks for STI and viral hepatitis needs among HASA clients
- DOHMH promotes HASA program to newly diagnosed individuals
Additional collaboration highlighted by John Rojas:
- Joint efforts during COVID-19 and Mpox outbreaks
- On-site testing and vaccination in HIV housing facilities
- Coordination of isolation, quarantine, and treatment resources
Lynn C. Schulman
0:55:44
So now I'm gonna ask you to describe how you guys work together so that you don't have Sure.
0:55:48
Overlap and that you are working efficiently in this space because that's gonna be important moving forward, obviously.
Sarah Braunstein
0:55:56
Yeah.
0:55:57
My colleague mentioned, a really robust collaboration that, in fact, has been such in in existence since 02/2007.
0:56:05
So, the team that I mentioned that's under my my bureau that, goes out and does partner services interviews and links people newly diagnosed with care, also has a a component to to its work to use our surveillance data to identify people who may be disengaged from HIV, care and to proactively do outreach to those people to facilitate their relinkage to care.
0:56:28
We, twice a year, as John mentioned, we, twice a year, do matches with the, data matches with the, HASA client list to, very pointedly assess the care status, and viral suppression status of HASA clients.
0:56:41
And then, those who appear to not be engaged in care, my team will go out and facilitate relinkage to care.
0:56:49
I will also note that, because not only is HIV under my purview in the in the Bureau of Hepatitis HIV and STIs, but also STIs and viral hepatitis r, we not only match, the HASA client list to our HIV registry to identify, those clients' HIV care status, but also look at our STI and viral hepatitis surveillance, systems to see if those clients additionally need, support for linkage to viral hepatitis, BRC, care and treatment or screening, and STI treatment as well.
0:57:24
So it's a really robust collaboration.
0:57:26
I will also note just in in terms of the conversation earlier that, because of that collaboration, my team also and we are often, you know, department perspective, the first people interfacing with someone newly diagnosed with HIV.
0:57:40
And so we, you know, do a a a very broad, assessment of need for supportive services broadly beyond just HIV itself, for those people, including promoting the HASA program.
0:57:52
So it's really a really important sort of touch point for people being newly diagnosed with HIV to make them aware of the HASA program, and direct them to these colleagues.
Lynn C. Schulman
0:58:02
Do you, so do you have a because I I know we heard testimony earlier about my pre considered intro.
0:58:09
Do you have a position on that?
0:58:11
Or
Sarah Braunstein
0:58:12
we don't.
Lynn C. Schulman
0:58:13
To expand, the HIV definition for HASA?
0:58:18
I think we would we
Sarah Braunstein
0:58:19
would support our colleagues position.
0:58:20
Okay.
Lynn C. Schulman
0:58:21
Now I wanna I wanna thank you, and I also wanna say that especially in light of everything that's going on, one, we wanna make sure that, HIV people living with HIV and AIDS are taken care of, but also the to the to the extent that you can promote that and let people know that we're here for them and, you know, with everything that's going on, that would be much appreciated.
0:58:42
So thank you.
0:58:43
Chair Ayala, I'll give it back to you.
0:58:44
Thank you.
John Rojas
0:58:45
Council member, I would also add one, I think, critical collaboration that I I think really saved lives in the last couple of years is our our collaboration on COVID.
0:58:56
The Department of Health, through doctor Bronstein's team and other areas of the divisions, the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, Bureau of Immunization, and and their emergency response teams really collaborated with us in our congregate facilities, in our temporary housing, SRO, emergency housing transitional facilities, and our permanent supportive housing.
0:59:14
We were able to, scale up testing on-site at all our, HIV, housing facilities, both emergency and, permanent and congregate settings.
0:59:26
And, when necessary, we were able to place folks in isolation and quarantine, provide them access to resources if they needed, you know, treatment, in addition to what they were receiving from the general medical care.
0:59:41
Mhmm.
0:59:42
The guidance that they provide us really, really, really saved lives.
0:59:45
And similarly, during that same time as we were tackling COVID, we were we had an overlay of monkeypox, that doctor Bronstein's team and others and and and the department of health really helped us with.
0:59:55
So we were literally in a collaboration where we had Casa case workers nights and and weekends calling up staff.
1:00:02
We were working with their teams to schedule appointments at their, sexual health clinics to do a monkeypox vaccination for this target population since they're more susceptible to, to I'm sorry.
1:00:13
M pox.
1:00:14
I know it.
1:00:14
I am I apologize.
1:00:17
M pox, not monkeypox.
1:00:18
We changed the name.
1:00:19
So we did that collaboration.
1:00:20
I just wanna thank, my colleagues at department health because that it really saved lives, and it really gave, you know, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable due to clinical needs, the access to vaccines for m pox as well as, COVID vaccinations that we were providing.
1:00:34
We provided on-site, but we coordinated any, ancillary care that we needed with our partners at the Department of Health.