MEDIA ADVISORY
Media contact:
Kate Harmon
Kharmon@familyfirsthealth.org
717-801-4855
Caring Together, a collaboration between Family First Health and WellSpan Health, that provides continuous case management for people living with HIV/AIDS has been nationally recognized for its quality of HIV care.
The National Quality Center and HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) announced today that Caring Together won the Quality of Care Award for Measurable Improvements in HIV Care. Caring Together serves approximately 550 clients living in the York-Adams County area.
In the past three years, the Caring Together program has restructured to become more comprehensive, inclusive and productive. It has focused on retention numbers, digging deep into data and what barriers to care exist for its clients. The team worked to clean up processes around refilling medications and lab work while also reviewing clients who fell out of care. The Caring Together retention rate has risen from 64.46 percent to 76.84 percent.
These increases show the benefits of retention but bring increased viral load suppression rates. As more clients come to their medical appointments, they’re having improved suppression rates. Viral load suppression for the program’s clients is currently at 87.91 percent.
“This is a huge honor for us and I have to say again how proud I am to work with this team,” Shannon McElroy, Caring Together program manager said announcing the award to the staff. “You all know you do great work and here is first hand recognition of that work.”
People who are HIV positive have unique needs and challenges in accessing medical care, case management and other services. Caring Together works to provides a seamless system of coordinated, high quality HIV care for people who are HIV positive so they can easily access the services they need.
About Family First Health
Founded in 1970, Family First Health is a non-profit, federally qualified health center dedicated to increasing access to affordable, quality health care. With sites in York, Hannah Penn Middle School, Lewisberry, Hanover and Gettysburg, Family First Health provides a broad range of primary health, dental care and social services to insured, uninsured and underinsured patients with the goal of improving the health of our communities as a whole. For more information, visit www.familyfirsthealth.org. Se habla español.