Event Description
Grand Rounds: "Optimizing the HIV Care Continuum in a Public Health Setting using Health System Navigators"
Speaker: Helena Kwakwa, MD, MPH. Dr. Kwakwa is a physician specializing in HIV medicine currently serving as Director of HIV Clinical Services for the Philadelphia Health Department.
Her particular areas of interest and research include HIV in women, HIV in the Black community, and access to care for the HIV-positive. Having grown up in Ghana, she also has an interest in issues relating to HIV in the developing world, and HIV in the US immigrant population.
Dr. Kwakwa is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, and Yale University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Event Description:
In July of 2012 the Ambulatory Health Services division of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health implemented a privately funded program designed to improve linkage to care and retention in HIV primary care using Health System Navigators. Philadelphia in one of three sites nationwide funded for this project; the other sites are Fulton County, GA and Harris County, TX. Now in its third year, this program has successfully improved linkage to care rates, retention in care rates, as well as rates of viral suppression for some of the most disenfranchised residents of Philadelphia. We will discuss the HIV care continuum and the importance of linkage to care and retention in care, the development of the Health System Navigator Program, key findings to date for the Philadelphia project, and important lessons learned. The Grand Rounds Lecture Series is an exciting series of talks and discussions concerning local, national and international issues in public health practice and research. Previous speakers have included the Massachusetts’ Secretary of Health & Human Services, officials from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Philadelphia Health Commissioner. These lectures provide an excellent opportunity for the Philadelphia community to keep informed and share insights about public health and medicine in a collegial atmosphere. Continuing Medical Education credits are available. Those who will enjoy the grand rounds are faculty and students of the Drexel University community, professionals from community-based organizations and government agencies involved in public health related activities, media professionals who write about pressing public health concerns, and other interested individuals in the Greater Philadelphia area. |
