HHS Awards $5 Million to Spur Innovation in HIV/AIDS Care to Women of Color

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will award almost $5 million in FY 2009 grants to test innovative ways of delivering HIV/AIDS services to women of color.

Over the next five years, grants totaling almost $25 million will be awarded under the Enhancing Access to and Retention in Quality HIV/AIDS Care for Women of Color initiative.

“This new initiative will test the effectiveness of interventions designed to get women of color into quality HIV care in a timely manner and to retain them in that care once treatment begins,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, PhD, RN. “Women of color represent a population at increasing risk to develop HIV/AIDS.”

The awards, from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program’s Special Projects of National Significance, will support 11 demonstration sites in both urban and rural locations as well as an evaluation and technical assistance center.

Women of color are especially affected by HIV infection and AIDS. Data from the 2005 census show that black and Hispanic women represent 24 percent of all women in the United States, but 82 percent of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for U.S. women that year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2004, the most recent year for which data are available, HIV infection was the:

• leading cause of death for black women age 25-34;
• third leading cause of death for black women age 35-44; and.
• fourth leading cause of death for Hispanic women aged 35–44 years.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds care and support services for low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals affected by the disease. Administered by HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, the program helps more than 500,000 medically underserved individuals every year. For additional information, visit http://hab.hrsa.gov/.

A list of grant awards follows:

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Part F - Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Award
Enhancing Access to and Retention in Quality HIV/AIDS Care for Women of Color
Organization	City	State	Award
Health Services Center, Inc.	Anniston	Ala.	$400,000
JWCH Institute, Inc.	Los Angeles	Calif.	399,444
Community AIDS Resource, Inc.	Miami	Fla.	399,204
Medical College of Georgia	Augusta	Ga.	400,000
The Core Foundation	Chicago	Ill.	400,000
Center for Human Services	Bethesda	Md.	398,376
New North Citizens Council, Inc.	Springfield	Mass.	400,000
The Research Foundation of State Univ. of New York	Albany	N.Y.	400,000
Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Evaluation Center)	Bronx	N.Y.	550,000
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	N.C.	400,000
Special Health Resources for Texas, Inc.	Longview	Texas	400,000
Univ. of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio	San Antonio	Texas	400,000
Total:			$4,947,024

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.