Florida HIV Patient Care Services

The state of Florida provides many different programs and services for HIV/AIDS prevention, support, and treatment. Funded partially by Ryan White Title II, there are a variety of health and social services available throughout the state for people who are HIV positive. The HIV patient care programs are funded through general revenue, Ryan White Title II, and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Specific programs through the Department of Health include the following:

Minority AIDS Initiative

The Minority AIDS initiative is a new component of Ryan White Title II to increase minority participation in ADAP. Eight projects have been funded throughout the state. The Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) coordinates several Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) projects in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The goal is to build capacity for HIV care and treatment in minority communities. An important role of this project is to identify gaps in the HIV/AIDS care system among minority populations and to create training programs to address these deficiencies. One of the training models used by the AETC is "Training the Trainers" (TOT) in which the AETC supervises and supports other organizations as they implement their own training programs.


Pediatric HIV/AIDS Program

The Department of Health's Children's Medical Services Pediatric HIV/AIDS program provides comprehensive services to infants, children, and adolescents who are HIV-exposed or infected. Services are provided through 6 HIV referral centers (5 are Ryan White Title IV programs) and 11 CMS HIV clinics located throughout the state.

AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)

ADAP is a program to help HIV positive people stay healthy by assisting with the purchase of prescription medications. ADAP provides HIV drug treatments for those who do not have private health insurance, do not quality for Medicaid or are waiting for Medicaid eligibility and can't afford to purchase medications.

As of June 2004, the ADAP had served approximately 10,000 clients in Florida (72% male and 28% female) and filled approximately 31,000 prescriptions. The program provides HIV/AIDS patients with prescription HAART medications that usually include 3 or more antiretroviral agents, as well as adjunctive therapy.

There are a number of eligibility criteria:


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ADAP provides HIV drug treatment for those in institutional care.
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Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)

The Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) is funded through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide the housing needs of persons with HIV disease and AIDS. The Department of Health, which contracts with lead agency organizations at the local level, administers Florida's HOPWA program. HOPWA provides temporary housing assistance to eligible individuals with documented HIV and their families. Services include the following:

The AIDS Insurance Continuation Program (AICP) is a statewide program for persons who are diagnosed with AIDS or are HIV positive with symptoms. Also, because of their illness, they are unable to maintain their private health insurance coverage. The program makes direct payments (up to $650/month) to each client's employer or insurance company for the continuation of medical, dental, mental health and optical coverage.

Targeted Outreach for Pregnant Women Act (TOPWA)

Targeted Outreach for Pregnant Women Act (TOPWA) was funded by Florida in 1998 to reach high-risk or HIV-infected pregnant women not receiving services. The project has expanded to 12 counties and several projects are funded to provide TOPWA services to women at their local county jail, including HIV and pregnancy testing. The goals include the following:

Outreach is conducted in venues where clients may be found: Laundromats, beauty salons, community centers, low income housing complexes, social organizations, bars, jails, homeless shelters, domestic violence centers, soup kitchens, substance abuse treatment centers and mental health facilities.


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TOPWA encourages high-risk pregnant women to be tested for HIV.
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Florida HIV/AIDS hotlines

Language/Service
Telephone number
English 1-800-352-AIDS
Spanish 1-800-545-SIDA
Haitian Creole 1-800-AIDS-101
TTY 1-888-503-7118

 

 

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