Four Atlantic County Groups Win Federal HIV/AIDS Grants

Four Atlantic County organizations will share in $1.6 million in grants to help support services for local HIV/AIDS patients, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration announced Thursday.

The four county organizations are:

Access One Inc., Somers Point: $408,220 in HIV/AIDS funding to support outpatient ambulatory medical care, diagnostic testing, case management and other health services it provides for those with HIV/AIDS.  

AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City campus: $871,486 to support outpatient ambulatory medical care, diagnostic testing, case management and other health services it provides for those with HIV/AIDS.

John Brooks Recovery Center, Atlantic City: $54,166 for its substance abuse treatment program for those with HIV/AIDS.  

South Jersey AIDS Alliance, Atlantic City: $272,306 to fund its Minority AIDS Initiative that links people released from prison to HIV care and medical transportation.

The Atlantic County groups are part of 17 hospitals, health centers, community organizations and public health agencies to receive the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Ryan White funds, state Health and Senior Services Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd said. Ryan White is a late Indiana teen who became the national face of children living with AIDS after being expelled from middle school for having the disease.

“I congratulate each organization for providing comprehensive medical care and support services to low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS,” O’Dowd said in a statement. “I know this funding will improve the health and quality of life of those they serve.”

Community organizations receiving Ryan White grants must spend at least 75 percent of the award on medical services, as opposed to support services such as transportation and case management, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Arturo Brito said.

Jeanine Marie Gold, director of Access One Inc., thanked the Department of Health and Human Services for recognizing the important work of caring for those with HIV/AIDS.

“The grant award will help us provide needed medical care and other services to the uninsured with HIV/AIDS,” Gold said.

AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Infectious Disease Service provides primary care, behavioral health and specialized HIV care to more than 500 HIV-positive patients in Atlantic and Cape May counties. The patients are uninsured or underinsured.

“Our medical case management team helps those living with HIV navigate the health care system,” AtlantiCare’s Jean Haspel said. “Our clients say they appreciate being able to access the care they need in one location, with on-site laboratory, imaging and pharmacy services.”

More than 45,000 people live with HIV/AIDS in New Jersey. The state ranks fifth nationally in the percentage of women diagnosed with HIV/AIDs, third in the percentage of pediatric cases and seventh in the overall number of cases.

Minority and multicultural populations are disproportionately impacted, and women account for one-third of the adult and adolescent HIV/AIDS cases in the state.

For more information on Ryan White Funding, visit hab.hrsa.gov/abouthab/​partbdrug.html. For additional information on New Jersey’s HIV/AIDS, STD and TB Services, visit state.nj.us/health/​aids/freemeds.shtml.