Oregon Primary Care Association Builds Capacity with Oregon AIDS Education and Training Center
Oregon Primary Care association (OPCA) is a nonprofit membership association for community health centers to advance health equity for Oregonians. Oregon AIDs Education and Training Center’s (AETC) work on HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment will augment key areas of OPCA’s strategic goals.
Portland, OR – 6/30/23 – the Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA)’s Board has voted to bring the Oregon AIDs Education and Training Center (AETC) into OPCA as a new program. AETC brings six staff members committed to improving the quality of life of persons with or at-risk of acquiring HIV through the provision of high-quality professional education and training.
OPCA, founded in 1984, has a long history of providing data-backed operational, payment, and clinical strategies, training, and technical assistance, in addition to innovations to transform care and payment models to support federally qualified community health centers (FQHCs) and their patients in Oregon. The organization’s current services are to support FQHCs as leaders on key healthcare issues like quality improvement, alternative payment and advanced care models, and social determinants of health. As a program of HRSA, the AETCs, founded in 1987, with a regional partner in Oregon since 2002, provide capacity building assistance and training to support clinicians and health systems along the HIV care continuum from prevention through viral suppression of HIV.
“The management of HIV infection continues to shift from specialty medicine to primary care,” said AETC Program Manager Dayna K. Morrison. “With aligned missions, the Oregon AETC will augment existing workforce development efforts by providing training and capacity building support around HIV, STIs, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Collection, and Social Determinants of Health in alignment with HRSA priorities to Federally Qualified Health Centers in Oregon and SW Washington.”
Key facts about the integration:
- AETC will join OPCA on July 1, 2023, as a new program
- AETC and OPCA hold shared goals to improve health outcomes for Oregonians through supporting primary care providers with training, capacity building, and resource sharing.
- Federally qualified health centers and safety net clinics remain a priority for education and training around STIs/HIV. These primary care patient-centered medical homes are diagnosing more than half of all new HIV diagnoses in Oregon and are essential partners in ending new HIV infections in the state.
- Funding for AETC comes from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Both funders also work closely with OPCA on other health-focused programs in Oregon.
“We are thrilled to bring the Oregon AETC program to OPCA. Our organizations both focus on improving patient outcomes through education, training, and support for primary care providers,” said Joan Watson-Patko, Executive Direction of OPCA. “AETC’s work is a natural extension and complement to our existing programs, and working together will allow us to have in-house expertise in the clinical and practice transformation space and expand upon services to member health centers.”
The move to integrate AETC with OPCA marks a significant milestone in advancing HIV care in Oregon. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to improving health outcomes, reducing disparities, and achieving health equity for all Oregonians.
About OPCA
The Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) is a nonprofit membership organization for the state’s federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and look-alikes. OPCA members deliver integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health services to vulnerable communities. OPCA generates data-driven insights into members’ operational challenges, provides best-practices training, and shapes evolving policy to achieve health equity in Oregon and beyond.
About Oregon AETC
The Oregon AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) is a program of the Mountain West AETC funded in part by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to offer provider education to improve patient health outcomes for people at risk or living with HIV while preventing new infections in our community. Currently serving all counties in Oregon and SW Washington, the Oregon AETC continues to expand efforts statewide.
Contact
Talbot Eckweiler
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
503-228-8852
Teckweiler@orpca.org
