|
|
  Special ProjectsCircle of CareTeen Work GroupSTD ProgramTraining 3    
|
Families served by The Circle of Care live in Philadelphia County (81%), Delaware County (7%), New Jersey (4%), Bucks County (3%), Montgomery County (2%), and Chester County (1%).
The first of these goals, the provision of family-centered care is the overarching goal which helps define the philosophy behind the other six goals. Together, these goals form the framework for how we engage our provider network, how we prioritize and plan for new resources, and how we determine which services to fund. What is the family-centered care model? The goal of engaging the client within the family-centered care model is to engage both the HIV positive family member(s) and the natural support network of the family to be active participants in the care team. Every family served by the Circle of Care has a care coordinator. For the majority of families, this care coordinator is a clinic-based case manager or social worker. The clinic-based case manager focuses on identifying and supporting the consumer in removing barriers to care, adherence to medical regimens and medications, and other needs. Many of these families are also assigned a Case Manager Assistant (CMA), who provides home-based services. In addition to the goal of maintaining the health of HIV positive and affected family members, family-centered care frequently requires the provision of services that support the family in order to improve the self-sufficiency of the caregivers. Case Manager Assistant (CMA) Program The primary role of the CMA is to assist consumers in accessing needed services and assisting the Care Team Coordinator and consumer in removing barriers to care. The integration of CMA services into the consumer Service Care Plan is utilized by the Care Team Coordinator as a way to augment the role of the Care Team Coordinator. CMAs assist with implementation of the Service Care Plan in three primary areas:
CMAs support the Care Team Coordinator in implementing the Service Care Plan and support the consumer and family through: performing practical tasks, assisting and guiding the consumer in skill-building activities, and providing emotional support and companionship. Perinatal HIV Transmission Prevention Program The Circle of Care expanded the Perinatal HIV Transmission Prevention Program, primarily through a CDC funded collaboration with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AIDS Activities Coordinating Office (AACO). Services are provided at the prenatal clinics at five major hospitals serving our targeted communities. After completing a needs assessment of available services, on-site case management and/or HIV counseling and testing services have been put in place in each facility. Case finding is accomplished by assuring availability of HIV counseling and antibody testing to women in prenatal clinics and pregnancy testing services within the target communities. HIV positive women are linked to appropriate primary medical and/or prenatal care. In addition, a family planning counselor who has been trained in HIV counseling, is scheduled for three half day session per week in at least two community-based testing sites to provide pregnancy testing services and birth control counseling. The goal is to broaden access to HIV information among women experiencing unprotected sex and to make appropriate referrals. As part of the Perinatal Initiative, a social marketing media campaign, was designed and implemented for the Circle of Care with a kick-off in September of 2000. This campaign included "Safe Baby" posters on public transit buses and Radio and TV Public Service Announcements. Project Empower Since its inception, the Circle of Care has emphasized the provision of information and skill-building opportunities to consumers, and has helped provide leadership and resources to support the efforts of Project Empower, the Circle of Care consumer advocacy and education group. The purpose of Project Empower is to involve adult family members as volunteer peer leaders in Circle of Care programs. Through their participation, consumers become "empowered", in charge of their treatment and that of their children, and become advocates for children and families with HIV and AIDS. In March 2001, the Circle of Care collaborated with Project Teach to train 15 HIV positive women, who will serve as peer educators for our Speaker's Bureau. Thus far, the Speaker's Bureau peer educators have been requested to make presentations at 3 women's centers, 3 high schools, one juvenile detention facility, and a community health center. Project Empower meets monthly, for more information, or to be added to the mailing list, call (215) 985-6262. To request information about the Speaker's Bureau, call (215) 985-2639. top of page Case Finding and Targeted Outreach Individuals who are high risk for HIV frequently do not understand their risk and do not seek HIV testing - this is a considerable barrier to care. A foundation of our approach to case finding has been to help high-risk individuals understand their risk and encourage them to get tested for HIV. The availability of confidential HIV testing with immediate linkage to care for those who are positive, is a crucial case finding technique. Last year, the Circle developed a new strategy for outreach and case finding: we identified 10 target zip codes with the highest rates of reported AIDS cases and asked our network agencies to concentrate their outreach efforts there. We have had mixed success with these efforts. While providers have only identified about 10 new HIV positive women or adolescents, they have provided HIV counseling and testing to over 50 adolescents and over 300 women. Our providers were also asked to work with organizations serving high-risk youth and women of color within the target zip code areas, and to report information about those collaborating organizations. Sixteen new collaborative relationships were established through these efforts. The collaborating organizations where outreach activities are conducted provide an array of services for our target populations including: GED programs, after school programs, homeless shelters, shelter for domestic violence and rape survivors, and an early head start program. The Fund for Families The Fund for Families is a source of support for HIV affected families in the Circle of Care network. These funds provide short-term emergency and non-emergency assistance in the form of subsidies and grants. Assistance via these funds is never transacted in cash; checks are issued to the provider agency or the company who will provide, or has provided, the service. All requests must be submitted by the client's case manager. The Family Planning Council administers the Fund for Families through the Circle of Care. Families receiving services through the Circle network must have demonstrated need: 90% on medical assistance, 5% are uninsured and 5% have private insurance. The Fund for Families exists to help these families meet basic needs: rent, gas or electric bills, moving expenses, a crib, shoes, new baby clothes and school clothes, strollers, high chairs, telephone bills, furniture - which includes beds, refrigerators, stoves, dressers and bedding. The Circle also assists families with burial costs - no other agency in the Philadelphia helps pay for this expense. Each December, the Circle of Care distributes holiday gifts and packages, provided by Nordstrom's department store, to about 120 families. Money distributed through the Fund for Families comes from many sources:
Contributions to the Fund are tax deductible. |
|
