Baton Rouge, La. — July 26, 2020 — Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced Monday the receipt of $441,000 in federal award dollars dedicated to addressing the HIV epidemic in East Baton Rouge Parish. The funding from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) will be allocated to Open Health Care Clinic (OHCC) to aid in the implementation of the Baton Rouge Ending the HIV Epidemic (BR EHE) Plan. 

OHCC is one of 96 organizations awarded funding from the CDC. 

“Since 2019, my Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative has worked with our local, state, and federal partners to launch our plan to end the HIV epidemic in Baton Rouge,” said Mayor Broome. “Our coalition is beginning the implementation of this work, and the funding from the CDC will jump-start the work of Open Health Care Clinic; this will make significant strides in our effort to educate our community, increase testing, and provide support to our residents.” 

The BR EHE Plan is focused on achieving four goals:

• Ensure that 90 percent of people living with HIV in EBRP know their HIV status by 2025.
• Reduce the rate of new diagnoses of HIV by at least 15 percent among priority populations in EBRP.
• Ensure 90 percent of people living with HIV are linked to care within 72 hours of diagnosis by 2025.
• Increase the number of people who have access to PrEP in EBRP by 30 percent by 2025, beginning with the promotion of prevention methods through the creation of a local marketing campaign beginning in 2022.

“The Broome Administration has provided incredible new energy and leadership along with federal partners in developing an Ending the HIV Epidemic plan locally,” said Tim Young, President and CEO of OHCC. “Open Health Care Clinic is excited to have been selected by CDC, among many well-qualified providers, to deliver new funding toward the plan and ending this burden on our community forever."

OHCC will use the allocation to enhance the program’s capacity for the promotion, delivery and sustainability of HIV prevention programs and treatment services. Goals include but are not limited to: increasing access to preventative measures; making screenings more accessible to EBRP residents; and connecting people living with HIV to medical care and antiretroviral therapy within 30 days of diagnosis.

This funding will aid in Baton Rouge’s continued effort to prevent new HIV cases; provide access to knowledge, resources, and care; and protect the health of our residents.