Baywell Health receives HRSA Grant to Expand HIV Prevention & Treatment Services

This crucial funding from Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) will help Baywell Health (formerly West Oakland Health) increase HIV counseling and testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, and linkage to care within days of diagnosis, as well as deepen partnerships with community-based organizations that serve and support people who are at risk of being infected with HIV or living with HIV.

While the number of new HIV diagnoses in Alameda County has declined in the past few years, Black and Latinx individuals comprise the largest percentage of new HIV diagnoses of all ethnic groups (33.9% each) in the county despite only representing 10.7% and 22.4% of the population, respectively. HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, low-income communities, and other marginalized communities – and most especially on individuals who live at the intersection of these communities, such as men of color who have sex with men, transgender individuals, individuals who were formerly incarcerated, and women of color.

Baywell Health will focus these grant-supported efforts in a culturally responsive manner on Black and Latinx populations, particularly on those subgroups who have historically not had adequate access to HIV prevention and treatment services. Baywell Health is grateful for this opportunity to play such an important role in ending the HIV Epidemic.