University Times

A $23 million grant to the University will support the training and education of health professionals who care for the thousands of people in the United States infected annually with HIV. The five-year award from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, through the Ryan White Comprehensive Care Act, supports the continuing work of the Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center(AETC).

Led by principal investigator Linda Frank, a faculty member in infectious diseases and microbiology at the Graduate School of Public Health, the Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AETC provides HIV/AIDS-related training to health professionals in Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The center’s purpose is to reduce barriers to HIV care by improving knowledge and skills through education, consultation and technical assistance.

Training focuses on clinical treatment, prevention and support for people with HIV and emphasizes the medically underserved, including women, men who have sex with men, minorities, prisoners, youth and substance users.

Training is implemented through on-site, web-based and other distance-based training technologies. A primary goal of the center is to increase the number of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and other health professionals who can provide care to HIV-infected patients.

The center, headquartered at GSPH since 1988, is one of 11 AETC programs established around the country, representing a network of clinician educators and trainers with expertise in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with HIV/AIDS and its related health conditions.