Today marked the start of a series of monthly HIV/STD educational presentations at Tully Hill. These presentations are the result of a new ongoing partnership between ACR and Tully Hill. Tully Hill is committed to providing quality educational opportunities to all patients. We sat down with our director of quality improvement to find out more about why providing HIV/STD education to patients is so important.
Could you tell us about the benefits of this ongoing partnership with ACR?
ACR Health is a non-profit community-based organization that provides a range of support services to individuals (including those with chronic diseases such as HIV, Substance Use Disorder, Mental Health illnesses). They also offer a broad range of targeted prevention and sexual health services. OASAS has partnered with ACR to provide HIV/STD education to OASAS certified treatment providers in the central New York area (Tully Hill is OASAS certified). A couple fundamental benefits of an ongoing partnership is that our patients will become more informed about chronic diseases including HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis C that are associated with high-risk behaviors, patients can exercise responsible decision-making post-discharge by implementing prevention interventions and learn how to manage the impact of chronic diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C as warranted.
Why is HIV/STD education important information for Tully Hill patients?
Per SAMHSA, people who abuse drugs and/or alcohol are at greater risk for contracting or transmitting HIV and viral hepatitis, lack of treatment can lead to (mental) health issues. Providing education to patients will better equip them with disease awareness and hopefully position them to make healthy decisions.
Could you briefly summarize what was covered during today’s ACR presentation?
Ben and Ethan, Tully Hill’s ACR representatives, did an amazing job providing a comprehensive overview of HIV. The presentation was interactive which allowed patients to periodically ask questions and guide the flow of the conversation. They started with a brief history of the disease, examples of historical and recent cases of HIV, as well as current statistics. Then they move into the following:
❖ Methods of contraction
❖ Disease symptoms and process
❖ Treatment options
❖ Preventative measures
They emphasized the importance of awareness and the stigma surrounding HIV. Through education, Ben, Ethan, and ACR are working towards ending these stigmas and providing the resources necessary to move towards their vision of a community in which every person has the opportunity to achieve optimal health and equality.
Tully Hill is very excited about this great addition to our patient’s programming. We would like to thank Ben and Ethan for taking the time to educate Tully Hill patients on HIV and we look forward to seeing them next month!
ACR’s mission is to create healthy communities by opening doors to services that enhance the well-being of all.
To find out more about ACR visit http://acrhealth.org/
