South Hennepin News

Hennepin County issued the following announcement on Nov. 19.

Hennepin County’s Ryan White program is marking its 25th year as an essential lifeline for people living with HIV/AIDS in Hennepin County and statewide.

Please join the Ryan White Program for a virtual event on World AIDS Day that will look back at the program’s accomplishments, recognize its partners in the work, and mark its 25th anniversary. 

Event details

• Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
• No RSVP required.
• Access the event here

Speakers include

• U.S. Representative Dean Phillips
• HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs Director Chrissy Abrahms-Woodland
• Minnesota Senate Assistant Minority Leader Jeff Hayden
• State Senator Scott Dibble
• State Representative Kelly Morrison
• Minnesota Department of Human Services Assistant Commissioner for the Community Supports Administration Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa
• Hennepin County Commissioner Marion Greene
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

The event will also include local community leaders, consumers of Ryan White services, and other allies. Everyone is welcome. 

More Ryan White Program

More than 4,700 Minnesotans with HIV -- about half the people living with HIV in the state-- receive federally funded health care, medication and services such as dental and mental health care, thanks to the Ryan White CARE Act signed into legislation in 1990. 

Hennepin County receives more than $6 million in federal funding to provide medical and support services for the 13-county Twin Cities area, where 85% of Minnesotans living with HIV reside. 

As the Hennepin County Ryan White Program continues to work toward ending the HIV epidemic it is important to reflect upon successes in delivering services to Minnesotans living with HIV/AIDS. In Hennepin County, successes include: 

• Providing a comprehensive system of high-quality care for people living with HIV. Hennepin County contracts with 12 providers who deliver more than 20 core medical and support services.
• Developing Hennepin County’s HIV elimination plan Positively Hennepin
• Increasing the number of individuals who are virally suppressed. In 2019, 90% of people receiving Ryan White services achieved viral suppression.
• Developing a strong collaborative partnership with the Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Health, that includes the community planning activities of the Minnesota Council for HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention
• Addressing disparities by partnering with local community groups and leaders who provide culturally responsive strategies to reach underserved populations

Each success brings Hennepin County’s Ryan White program closer to eliminating HIV-related health disparities, helping residents sustain good health, and preventing new HIV infections at the center of Minnesota’s epidemic.   

Original source can be found here.