Partners in Caring

HIV Testing
Trained staff from PIC provide pre- and post-test HIV counseling at outpatient clinics, community-based organizations, and health fairs. HIV testing, counseling, and education are also offered at various substance abuse treatment centers in Durham, Cumberland, Orange, Person, Wake, and Johnston Counties in conjunction with the treatment programs offered. If DPIC encounters a newly diagnosed HIV client through testing, we help that person make an appointment with the local health department and follow up to ensure they are enrolled in care as soon as possible.

HIV 101 Education
Partners in Caring provides workshops addressing HIV, AIDS, and STDs. The workshops are geared toward communities of faith, faith-group leaders, church members, seminary students, and all other interested people. 

If you have questions regarding prevention services in Durham and the surrounding areas, please call Amber Esters at 919-681-9812. If you have questions regarding testing in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Christine Lloyd at 910-662-9354.

Integrated Targeted Testing Services (ITTS)
ITTS conducts HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis C testing in areas frequented by persons at high risk. These projects also ensure that clients who test positive are successfully linked with medical care and other services by providing active follow-up and referrals to local providers and/or patient management networks for HIV care coordinators. These providers/coordinators make calls to providers, arrange transportation, and/or provide other support. ITTS projects reach men who have sex with men, racial and ethnic minorities, people living with HIV/AIDS who are unaware of their status, as well as other at-risk populations. Testing is offered in community settings or at fixed testing sites including homeless shelters, jails, drug treatment centers, migrant health centers, nightclubs, and colleges. ITTS projects provide services at hours and locations that are accessible to persons at highest risk for HIV and help to identify persons who are unaware of their HIV status and actively facilitate getting them into treatment and prevention services.

If you have questions or need more information regarding the ITTS Program in Durham and the surrounding areas, please call Amber Esters at 919-681-9812. In Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Stephen Bradley at 910-662-9354.

Choosing Life: Empowerment! Action! Results! (CLEAR)
CLEAR is an evidence-based health promotion intervention for males and females ages 16 and older living with HIV. CLEAR is a client-centered program that's delivered one-on-one using cognitive-behavioral techniques to change behavior. CLEAR is a FREE, short-term counseling program that promotes healthy living. Sessions last 45 minutes to an hour, one a week for five weeks. We also provide Walmart gift cards upon completion of the program.

CLEAR is not a substitute for other behavioral health, mental health, or substance use programs but works very well alongside them, as we talk more specifically about living with HIV while working to improve participants’ lives. Participants say they enjoy meeting with a counselor individually to talk about what’s on their minds, setting goals and having their counselor check on their progress, discussing their thoughts and feelings in a confidential space, and practicing effective relaxation techniques and communication skills.

If you have questions or need more information regarding the CLEAR intervention in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Christine Lloyd at 910-338-5493.

Ryan White Part B
Ryan White Part B provides grant funding to states and territories to improve the quality, availability, and organization of HIV health care and support services. Part B funds core medical services and support services. The specific allowable services funded by each State are determined at the State level based on needs assessment and available funding. Core medical services include outpatient and ambulatory health services, ADAP, AIDS pharmaceutical assistance, oral health care, early intervention services, health insurance premium and cost-sharing assistance, home health care, medical nutrition therapy, hospice services, home and community-based health services, mental health services, outpatient substance abuse care, and medical case management, including treatment-adherence services.

Support services must be linked to medical outcomes and may include outreach, medical transportation, linguistic services, respite care for caregivers of people with HIV/AIDS, referrals for health care and other support services, nonmedical case management, and residential substance abuse treatment services.

If you have questions regarding Ryan White Part B services in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Robin Hahaj at 910-338-5984.

Ryan White Part D
Ryan White Part D provides grant funding to support family-centered, comprehensive care to women, infants, children, and youth living with HIV. Part D divides allowable costs among four categories: medical services, clinical quality management, support services, and administrative.

• Medical Service costs are associated with providing family-centered care, including access to primary medical care services for women, infants, children, and youth living with HIV.
• Clinical Quality Management (CQM) costs are costs required to maintain a CQM program, including quality improvement activities, data collection for CQM purposes, and training and technical assistance for staff.
• Support Service costs are associated with services needed for individuals with HIV to achieve their HIV medical outcomes, including case management, patient transportation to medical appointments, and outreach to recruit and keep women, infants, children, and youth living with HIV in care.
• Administrative costs are those costs not directly associated with service provision. By RWHAP statute, no more than 10% of a Part D budget can be allocated to administrative costs.

If you have questions regarding Ryan White Part D services in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Elisha Jennings at 910-662-9354.

Case Management
Case management is a multi-step process to ensure timely access to and coordination of medical and psychosocial services for a person living with HIV/AIDS. Case management includes intake, assessment of needs, service planning, service plan implementation, service coordination, monitoring and follow-up, reassessment, case conferencing, crisis intervention, and case closure.

If you have questions regarding case management services in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Chris Long at 910-338-5552.

Support Groups
Partners in Caring support groups provide a space for participants to support one another with information and encouragement in a safe, respectful, and confidential space. People living with HIV who participate in support groups often take better care of themselves and are less likely to report feeling isolated or depressed. As a result, participants live longer, healthier lives. 

Partners in Caring has sponsored a long-running support group for women living with HIV. The monthly meetings are held in Jacksonville, NC, and are open to women who are positive throughout Region 7. In the past, this group has done body mapping and presented their experience with HIV to our Region Seven Network of Care and Prevention meeting.

If you have questions or need more information regarding our Women’s Support Group in Jacksonville and surrounding areas, please contact Cressie Stokes at 910-338-5509.

Individuals who complete the five core skill sessions of the CLEAR intervention are invited to continue that accountability in a group setting through our newly formed CLEAR Support Group. The group’s discussion and activities are driven by the group’s requests and oftentimes speakers are brought in and an evening meal provided. Meetings are open by invitation, but there is no commitment required.

If you have questions or need more information regarding the Support Group for CLEAR graduates in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Christine Lloyd at 910-662-9354.
 
Spiritual Care
Partners in Caring was founded to reduce the isolation experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, and to bridge the gap between patients, families, churches, and communities. To this day, we maintain this original commitment. Trained clinical chaplains are available to the patients and staff of the Infectious Diseases Clinic and Duke University Medical Center and to the clients of the Southeastern Regional network of Care. All Partners in Caring chaplains are experienced in providing confidential, nonjudgmental, and sensitive care to people living with HIV/AIDS.

If you have questions or need more information regarding Spiritual Care/Chaplaincy Services in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Stephen Bradley at 910-338-5852.

HIV Medication Assistance Program (HMAP)
The North Carolina HIV Medication Assistance Program (NC HMAP) is the government funded ADAP for the state of North Carolina. NC HMAP is funded jointly by state and federal dollars and is designed to provide financial assistance to low-income state residents for the purchase of medications specifically used to combat HIV and the opportunistic infections that are specific to AIDS. Guidelines for participation in the program include a diagnosis of HIV infection. Clients with no insurance are signed up for HMAP, which will provide HIV medications as well as some other medications for free for six months at a time. Every six months each client must renew their HMAP application to continue receiving the medications without interruption. Proof of income, residency, and labs are requirements to be eligible for HMAP. The income limit is below 300% federal poverty level for the entire household.

If you have questions regarding HMAP in Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call LeRon Montgomery at 910-338-5897.

For Non-HIV medications that are not covered by HMAP, PIC is able to assist clients in purchasing medications on a limited basis as well as to assist with copays if the client has insurance.

Uninsured clients who need ongoing medications not covered by HMAP may be assisted in obtaining medications by applying directly to the drug company.

Housing assistance is offered through the HOPWA (Housing Opportunity for People living with AIDS), TBRA (Tenant-Based Rental Assistance), EFA (Emergency Financial Assistance), and PHP (Permanent Housing Placement) programs. Each program has specific criteria and financial limits for which necessary documentation must be provided. Through HOPWA or EFA, PIC is able to provide assistance with rent, mortgage, and utilities. The TBRA program is an ongoing rental subsidy program, while the PHP program via HOPWA assists with the first month’s rent or deposit. For all of these programs, the client must have some type of income to be eligible.

Partners in Caring does not locate housing or have housing available to offer to clients. For homeless clients with no income, PIC assists clients in finding accommodations in one of the area shelters.

If you have questions or need more information regarding HOPWA in Durham and the surrounding areas, please call Angel Freeman at 919-679-1849. In Wilmington and the surrounding areas, please call Chris Long at 910-338-5552.