A recent survey taken by 37 health care professionals showed that 65% of them were not aware of the HIV/AIDS Resource Program (HARP) located within the Victoria County Public Health Department. This number is alarming considering the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program was created to improve the quality and availability of HIV care and treatment for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). It is a goal of HARP to ensure health care providers and community members are aware of HARP and our services. Seeing a doctor is vital to PLWHA and having access to other medical services is equally important.  

Having an impaired immune system results in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) being susceptible to opportunistic infections. The costs of living with HIV, as well as the opportunistic infections can be devastating. HARP offers the following medical services to assist with the overwhelming medical costs:

• Health Insurance Premium and Cost Sharing (HIPSCA) - assists in paying health insurance premiums, dental insurance premiums, and cost sharing on behalf of the client. 
• Local Pharmaceutical Assistance Program (LPAP) – Ensures clients receive medications when other means to procure medications are unavailable or insufficient.
• Medical Case Management (MCM) – A range of client centered activities focused on improving health outcomes in support of HIV care continuum. 
• Mental Health Services – Provision of outpatient psychological and psychiatric screening, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling services. 
• Oral Health – Activities include outpatient diagnostics, prevention, and therapy provided by dental health care professionals.
• Outpatient/Ambulatory Health Services (OAHS) – Provide diagnostic and therapeutic-related activities directly to a client by a licensed healthcare provider in an outpatient medical setting. 

In order to be able to become and remain undetectable PLWHA need to have a safe and secure place to live, utilities, food, and transportation. HARP provides the following supportive services to ensure people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are secure enough to be adherent to medical treatment:

• Emergency Financial Assistance – Provides limited one-time or short-term payments to assist clients with an urgent need for essential items or services necessary to improve health outcomes.
• Food Bank – Provides gift cards to purchase food, personal hygiene products, and household cleaning supplies.  
• Housing Services – Provides transitional, short-term, or emergency housing assistance.
• Medical transportation services – Provision of non-emergency transportation services that enables clients to access or be retained in core medical and supportive services.
• Referral for Health Care and Supportive Services – Directs clients to needed core medical services and supportive services. 

HARP of Victoria offers care to support the well-being of individuals living with HIV in the Victoria area. We serve Victoria, DeWitt, Jackson, Calhoun, Goliad, Lavaca, and Gonzales counties. To achieve the overall goal of ending the HIV epidemic it is imperative health care providers and community members are aware of our services. If you or someone you know is currently living with HIV/AIDS in the Victoria area and needs support, reach out to us to learn more about our program and its eligibility requirements at: www.vcphd.org or call our office at: 361-572-0125.

Kim Kirbo is the Program Manager for HARP at the Victoria County Public Health Department. She has been with the county since 2018.