About Us — News & Events

December 12, 2011 – HFP’s PA/MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) has been working with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on a campaign to inform doctors that Governor Corbett recently signed a law that reflects CDC recommendations regarding routine HIV testing in health care settings.  The new law eliminates the need for a separate written consent for HIV tests in medical settings and encourages providers to offer “opt-out” testing, where the patient will be tested for HIV unless he or she declines.  This is a step that will be especially beneficial in Philadelphia, where many of the nearly 2% of residents already infected with HIV are unaware of their status, and may be spreading the disease unknowingly.

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revised its HIV testing guidelines to recommend that all patients aged 13-64 should be offered opt-out testing for HIV routinely, as a standard of good patient care in all health care settings.  As a result of the new law in PA, health care providers will be able to streamline their HIV testing procedures so that many more people will know their status and be linked to high-quality, life-saving care.  

The AETC’s campaign aims to increase the number of Philadelphia residents who are aware of their HIV status by disseminating guidelines from the CDC and updates on the new law to Philadelphia’s physicians.  Additionally, the AETC is reaching out to hospital attorneys and risk managers and encouraging them to adjust their institutional consent policies and procedures so that health care providers may implement routine HIV testing in a way that is consistent with this new law.  Finally, the AETC will be hosting a webinar for Pennsylvania health law attorneys on the new law in February 2012 and a live event at the College of Physicians for local physicians in April 2012 to help this campaign for routine HIV testing gain momentum.  For more information, please email: HIVTest@healthfederation.org.

Debra D’Alessandro, MPH, Project Manager for the Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) Local Performance Site located at HFP recently presented a poster at the American Public Health Association conference in Washington, D.C. (October 29 to November 2, 2011) highlighting work that the Health Federation has done with the City of Philadelphia on developing training for staff to integrate screening for viral hepatitis, STD, and tuberculosis into HIV testing. 

Philadelphia was selected by the CDC as a demonstration project for Program Collaboration and Service Integration (PCSI) across HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis programs. The ultimate goal of PCSI is to work towards integration of prevention, screening and treatment services for syndemics (two or more afflictions, interacting synergistically, contributing to excess burden of disease in a population) at the patient level. 

The AETC is coordinating a multidisciplinary planning committee to review existing training models and pilot an integrated training with HIV test counselors. This group found that significant barriers exist to successfully integrating training, including staff and patient information overload and categorically limited funding streams.  The group also concluded that a standardized training curriculum could make staff orientation to integrated screening more effective and less burdensome on individual providers. 

For more information, please email debra13@healthfederation.org. 

November 15, 2011 – Philadelphia’s AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO) recently signed a cooperative agreement with the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide integrated behavioral health support within primary health care services for people living with HIV and AIDS.   The Health Federation (HFP) will provide training and technical assistance under this project.  

Behavioral Health Consultants (BHC) and certified peer specialists will be fully integrated into the teams providing primary medical care to HIV-affected individuals  in the six largest HIV care practices in Philadelphia.   The model is intended to address the high level of unmet need for behavioral health and substance abuse services among this population.  

HFP’s role in this project is based both on our extensive experience working with community health centers to implement the Behavioral Health Consultant model, and in our role as a provider of training and capacity building to the HIV care community through the  AIDS Education and Training Center Local Performance Site located at HFP. 

For more information about this project, please contact natlev@healthfederation.org. 

The 2011-2012 class of 28 Philadelphia Health Corps members has arrived, and is already at work in community placements focused on improving access to health care and helping individuals and communities improve their health. 

The members are a diverse group coming from all over the country, including Texas, Colorado and South Dakota, as well as areas closer to Philadelphia. Most finished college within the past two years, graduating from institutions such as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Princeton University and Howard University.  Some are interested in pursuing medical school after their year of service, while others are focused on other professional schools (public health, nursing, social work) or are interested in working in the nonprofit sector. One of the goals of the Health Corps program is to expose those considering careers in health care to valuable community health skills and experiences. 

Members are placed in a variety of community settings.  Sixteen members are working in City Health Centers, helping uninsured patients gain access to prescription assistance programs that provide medications to needy individuals.  Additional members are working in other community health centers, an elementary school, and community based organizations such as Maternity Care Coalition and Nationalities Service Center. Members will also participate in joint service projects and will receive continual support and training from the Health Federation throughout the year.  In exchange for their year of service, they receive a stipend, an education award toward future study, and invaluable hands-on experience.  This is the Philadelphia Health Corps’ 17th year.  

For more information about Philadelphia Health Corps, please go to www.philadelphiahealthcorps.org. 

HFP’s Early Head Start program recently held a successful Health Care Institute for 38 participating families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) is a project of the UCLA Anderson School of Management funded by Johnson & Johnson. The goal is to help empower Head Start parents in decisions concerning their children’s healthcare, by providing the knowledge and skills to better care for their children at home. 

The full-day training session focuses on an array of key health issues: how to take a child’s temperature; how to correctly measure children’s medicine; how to notice the signs and symptoms of common childhood illnesses. Parents are trained to use the book "What to Do When Your Child Gets Sick" by Gloria Mayer and Ann Kuklierus as a tool to promote the safety and well-being of their children. All parents leave the training with a copy of the book, as well as a digital thermometer and measuring spoon. 

One objective of the Institute is to reduce use of emergency rooms for minor childhood illnesses, when kids can be better cared for at home.   After the training, 73% of the Early Head Start parents who participated said that they would now look in a health book or give their child over the counter medicine if he/she were vomiting for one day instead of going to the ER, up from 17% before the training.

Many local businesses generously supported the training, with donations for raffles, giveaways and refreshments. Thanks go out to all of these generous sponsors.