In 2018, the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) embarked on a 500-mile, three-day trip across Mississippi to visit five Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). These five FQHCs participated in a “Getting to Zero” Learning Collaborative, a six-month initiative to help bring HIV transmission to zero in the state.
This Learning Collaborative was a working partnership with the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association and the Mississippi AIDS Education Training Center. PCDC, along with its partners, worked with these five FQHCs to collectively identify areas of strength and improvement in their HIV prevention efforts. Additionally, PCDC developed tailored resources and training sessions at no cost.
HIV prevention services are vital to those in Mississippi. Studies and research show that HIV is prevalent in the state, with many more diagnoses than in other parts of the country.
This Learning Collaborative also demonstrated the importance of integrated health care. The Delta Health Center, the first FQHC to open in the United States, fully supports HIV integration work. They continue to provide the necessary HIV services to serve the community.
PCDC continues to support ending the HIV epidemic by providing personalized training and technical assistance services that help organizations expand and improve the delivery of HIV testing, treatment, and prevention programs.
“We can see an end to HIV in the next decade. Primary care providers can be at the forefront of helping to change the course of HIV by learning more about treatment and prevention and making important practice changes to integrate these tools within their practices,” said Oscar Marquez, M.Ed., Senior Program Manager and Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) Project Director at PCDC.