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Programs and Services
Provider Network Listings
Mission Statement:
The Circle of Care is committed to the provision of quality comprehensive family-centered care and services for HIV
affected women, children, adolescents, and their families and to the prevention of HIV disease in these populations.
Key Facts:
The Circle has served 1,100 families since 1989. In 2000-2001:
- Over 720 families received medical care and support services.
- Intensive case management services were provided to 720 families.
- Case manager assistants provided home-based services to 220 families.
- Financial assistance, through the Fund for Families was provided to 151 families
- Transportation assistance was provided to 550 families
- The supportive housing program provides transitional housing to 12 families with an HIV positive family member.
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%).
History:
The Circle of Care was founded in 1989 as a network of health and social service providers with an exclusive focus on
serving HIV positive women, adolescents, children and their families. In 1994, The Circle of Care added the focus of prevention of perinatal transmission of HIV.
The Family Planning Council provided the original home and stewardship to The Circle of Care, and continues to do so. The Circle of Care has a Board comprised of consumers and representatives from the provider network who provide the strategic direction and policy oversight to The Circle of Care. The Circle of Care is the only Ryan White Title IV grantee in Pennsylvania. Over the years, The Circle has secured funding from multiple funding streams to create a model of family-centered care and services.
Programs and Services
Overview - Program Philosophy
While the Circle of Care is a network of provider agencies, over the years we have taken the lead in constructing a scope of services and programs that are based upon the following goals:
- Provide comprehensive family-centered medical care and support services to HIV infected infants, children, youth,
women and HIV affected families.
- Provide services to reduce the risk of perinatal HIV transmission for pregnant women and women of child bearing age.
- Ensure that HIV positive women, children, and adolescents are identified and linked to medical care and support services through coordinated and targeted Case Finding and Care Outreach activities.
- Provide opportunities for consumers to experience community, support the development of consumer leadership, and empower consumers to advocate for themselves, their families, and their communities.
- Ensure quality of care through the provision of core program support services, planning and the coordination of services.
- Ensure quality outcomes for clinical care, case management and other services.
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:
- Maintaining the health of clients,
- Increasing the self-sufficiency of clients, and
- Keeping families intact.
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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.
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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:
- The AIDS Fund,
- Children Affected by AIDS Foundation,
- Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS,
- W.W. Smith Foundation, and from special events,
and from individual donors.
Contributions to the Fund are tax deductible.
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Provider Network Listing
ActionAIDS, Inc.
1216 Arch Street
Philadelpia, PA 19107
Satellite Offices: North and West Philadelphia
Description: Community-based AIDS Service organization.
Primary Focus: Case Management
Circle Funded Services: Case Management, Case Manager Assistant Perinatal Services
AIDS Care Group
c/o West End Medical Group
2621 West 9th Street
Chester, PA 19013
Description: Community-based AIDS Service organization (also Title III grantee)
Circle Funded Services: Case Management, Case manager Assistant
B E B A S H I
1217 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Description: Community-based AIDS Service organization - African American Community
Circle Funded Services: Case Management
The Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
Special Immunology (Family Clinic)
34th Street & Civic Center Boulevard
Room 7106
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Description: Children's Hospital Researchand Teaching Hospital
Circle Funded Services: Primary Care, Case Management, Case Manager Assistant, Adolescent Services Care Outreach
The Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
Adolescent Program
34th Street & Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Description: Childrens' Hospital Research and Teaching Hospital
Circle Funded Services: Adolescent Services Health Resource Center
The City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Care Plus Clinic
Strawberry Mansion
2840 West Dauphin Street
Philadelphia, PA 19132
Description: Community Health Center; City Health Clinic
Circle Funded Services: Primary Care; Case Management
COMHAR, Inc.
100 West Lehigh Avenue
Phiadelphia, PA 19133*4097
Description: Nonprofit organization prioviding contract Behavioral health Services
Circle Funded Services: Behavorial Health
Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc.
719 West Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Description: Community-based, multi-purpose organization - Latino Community
Circle Funded Services: Case Manager Assistant, Case Finding, Perinatal Services
Friends Rehabilitation Program
1221 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Description: Subsidized housing program for low income and people with AIDS
Circle Funded Services: Supportive Housing Program
Germantown Settlement
Germantown Health Watch Program
C.E. Pickett Middle School
Wayne & Chelten Avenues
Philadelphia, PA 19144
Description: Community-based, multi-purpose human service agency serving low income residents of
the Germantown area.
Circle Funded Services: Adolescent Services
Health Federation of Philadelphia
Womens Anonymous Test Site (WATS)
MCP - Hahnemann School of Medicine
1211 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Description: Federation of Community Health Centers, HIV testing site.
Cirlce Funded Services: Case Finding, Perinatal Services
Health Federation of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania AIDS Education & Training Center (PA AETC)
1211 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Description: Regional AIDS education and training center, Philadelphia performance site
Cirlce Funded Services: Provider Training, Perinatal Review Panel
Partnership Comprehensive Care Practice
HIV/AIDS Medicine
Section MCP
Hahnemann University
1427 Vine Street, 3rd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Description: Adult Care Primary Care Clinic (also Title III grantee)
Circle Funded Services: Case Management, Perinatal Services
Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives
1201 Chestnut Street, 3rd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Description: Community-based AIDS Sercies Organization, Sexual Minorities
Circle Funded Services: Case Manager Assistant, Case Finding, Perinatal Services
Spectrum Health Services, Inc.
Haddington Health Center
5619-23 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19139
Desciption: Federally-funded Community health Center, Prenatal Care early intervention provider
Circle Funded Services: Adolescent Servies, Perinatal Services
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
Department of Immunology
Front Street & Erie Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19134-1095
Description: Childrens' Hospital, Research & Teaching Hospital
Circle Funded Services: Primary Care Case management, Case Manager Assistant, Adolescent Services
St. Marys Respite Care Center
3115 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Description: Nonprofit provider of respite care for children & families affected by HIV
Circle Funded Services: Respite Care
For more information about The Circle of Care, please email us at:
CircleofCare@familyplanning.org
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