Prism Health North Texas  announced Wednesday, March 11, that it has been selected to receive funding through the Gilead Foundation’s Community Health Worker Compreventive HIV Prevention Initiative. The initiative represents $12 million investment in community-based organizations across 14 states and the District of Columbia to expand culturally responsive, CHW-led HIV prevention models, according to a press release announcing the funding. 

Kim Burgan, Prism Health’s chief marketing and development officer

The initiative prioritizes communities at the highest risk of new infection, the press release said, and through this funding, PHNTX will “advance HIV and STI prevention, testing and treatment for Black and Latina women in Dallas County, a population that continues to experience rising infection rates and persistent stigma around sexual healthcare.”

With $400,000 in funding over two years, PHNTX will hire a new community health worker dedicated to engaging women where they live, work and seek care,” the press release explained, adding that the CHW will work alongside PHNTX’s community marketing manager to “integrate education and prevention into routine women’s care at PHNTX clinics and trusted community settings, offering testing, risk-reduction counseling, and navigation to PrEP while reducing stigma and ensuring women reduce their risk of acquiring HIV and STIs.”

Kim Burgan, Prism Health’s chief marketing and development officer, said, “Women are often left out of conversations about HIV prevention and treatment, even though infection rates among women remain a serious concern in Texas and here in Dallas County. This funding allows us to expand the work PHNTX has done for decades in HIV prevention and bring those services directly to women in our community, helping them better understand their risk and the prevention options available to them.” 

Dallas County continues to experience one of the highest HIV burdens in Texas, according to the press release, with rising infections among women and some of the state’s highest rates of sexually transmitted infections, which increase susceptibility to HIV. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, women account for approximately one in five people living with HIV in the state, yet prevention options are not consistently offered during routine healthcare visits.

PHNTX serves a patient population that reflects these disparities, including those who live in neighborhoods with limited access to preventive healthcare or OB/GYN services, and some of the highest STI infection rates in the region. 

Through this initiative, PHNTX will “work to normalize HIV prevention as a routine part of women’s healthcare by introducing conversations about testing, risk reduction, and prevention options during OB/GYN, prenatal, postpartum, and family planning visits,” the press release said. “The CHW will partner with local organizations, faith communities, community colleges, and neighborhood networks to connect with women who may not be currently engaged in care and provide culturally responsive education and navigation to services.

Through the Gilead Foundation’s initiative, organizations nationwide will work to expand integrated screening for HIV, STIs, mental health, and substance use, deliver targeted HIV-prevention education, connect people to services including PrEP navigation and harm-reduction supports and reduce stigma and strengthen community engagement.

— Tammye Nash

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