#CEGInWV has partnered with 18 organizations across West Virginia to distribute 2,000 COVID-19 Relief Packages.

These packages will include a backpack filled with hand sanitizer, face masks, an educational infographic and resource guide, and a $5 Kroger gift card to purchase water.

The call for supplies was so great, we had to quadruple our initial order of 500 backpacks and 1,000 masks, request an additional 1,500 backpacks and 3,000 masks.

Because of the need for more supplies, we are currently awaiting that second order of backpacks and masks.

Distribution will begin in October 2020.

In just two weeks, we secured an unprecedented 18 distribution partners for our COVID-19 Relief Packages.

You can find a list of our distribution partners, below, as well as links to their respective websites.

In 2007, the West Virginia legislature passed a moratorium (§16-5Y-12) on the opening of new Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) that offer Methadone for use in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).

Since the passage of (§16-5Y-12), West Virginia’s opioid addiction crisis has raged out of control, leaving with the highest rate of Drug Overdose Deaths, the highest rate of new Hepatitis A infections, the highest rate of new Hepatitis B infections, and the second-highest rate of new Hepatitis C infections in the United States in 2018. In addition, Injection Drug Use (IDU) of both opioids, and stimulants accounted for 91 (62.3%) of the 146 new HIV infections in West Virginia in 2019.

#CEGInWV is asking providers, Community-Based Organizations, and individuals about the OTP Moratorium.

#CEGInWV hosted a very successful inaugural West Virginia Statewide Stakeholder Meeting, on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020.

The meeting brought together 65 individuals and organizations, including state government and public health officials, healthcare providers, national organizations, school board officials, Community-Based Organizations, and others from across West Virginia.

CEG’s Founder and Executive Director, A. Toni Young, presented about CEG’s work in the state of West Virginia, including the following:

1. Working to deconstruct disease state silos between Substance Use Disorder, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis by increasing awareness, education, and building linkage to care networks;
2. Working to overturn West Virginia’s 2007 legislative moratorium (§16-5Y-12) on new Opioid Treatment Programs that offer Methadone for use as Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT);
3. Working to expand HIV screening, rapid testing, surveillance, treatment, and linkage to care throughout West Virginia, reaching into hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat parts of the states;
4. Working with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Department of Health and Human Resources, and Office of Laboratory Services to clarify, adapt, and revise West Virginia’s HIV testing statute (§64-64);
5. Working to increase Viral Hepatitis vaccination, testing, surveillance, and treatment services throughout the state;
6. Helping to develop statewide elimination plans for HIV and Viral Hepatitis;
7. Developing statewide working groups focused on SUD, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis;
8. Establishing regular statewide stakeholder meetings to discuss strategies for addressing West Virginia’s most pressing public health needs.

Toni was joined by Ana Paula Duarte (Southern AIDS Coalition), Adrienne Simmons (National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable), Nicole Elinoff (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors – NASTAD), and Mike Weir (NASTAD), all of whom presented on their respective areas of expertise.

The video of this first meeting has been made available on CEG’s YouTube channel (here), and the full meeting was streamed live on CEG’s Facebook page (here). You can also download the slides used during the meeting by clicking on their respective buttons.

Thank you, to everyone who attended this first meeting, and we look forward to working with our partners across West Virginia to build a stronger community, one project at a time.

#CEGInWV will be convening a statewide stakeholder meeting on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020, @ 12:00 PM for West Virginia advocates, organizations, providers, and state officials.

This meeting will be used to discuss CEG’s work in West Virginia, including the following:

• Working with the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services, and Office of Laboratory Services to revise our state’s HIV testing statute (§64-64) to make it easier for organizations to conduct rapid HIV testing throughout the state;
  
• Working with the Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse and Treatment to repeal West Virginia’s 2007 legislative moratorium on Opioid Treatment Programs (§16-5Y-12) so that we can open more treatment facilities across the state to address our state’s opioid crisis;
  
• Working with WV’s state Medicaid office to remove Prior Authorization requirements that serve as barriers to treatment for Hepatitis C;
  
• CEG & TruEvolution’s creation of the Rural Health Service Providers Network;
  
• CEG’s forthcoming COVID-19 Relief Package distribution campaign.

In addition to CEG’s activities, we will be requesting input from stakeholders about the issues they’re facing providing services in the state of West Virginia – what are their priorities; what issues need to be addressed; what resources are needed?

We want to hear from you.

To register for this webinar, please fill out the embedded form, below, or click on the registration button to go directly to the registration page.

(Please note, the embedded form scrolls within the page.)

Please fill out the survey using the embedded form, below. If your device does not display the form, please click on the button to be redirected to a website version.

National Rural Health Service Providers COVID-19 Resources Survey

Help us understand the resource needs of RHSPs

Cardea, Community Education Group, and TruEvolution are partnering to learn how COVID-19 is impacting Rural Health Services Providers (RHSPs) so they can better facilitate conversations with policymakers and advocate to expand access to resources to support client care.

RHSPs are a vital component of American public health infrastructure that often serve as entry points into care for populations that may not otherwise engage in health or social services. RHSPs provide healthcare-related services in rural counties, as designated by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), or rural census tracts in urban counties. RHSP is a broadly defined term, and they can be:

• Public or private
• Non-profit or for-profit organizations and corporations
• Faith-based or community-based
• Located in rural, suburban, or urban areas

Despite the critical services they provide, they do not meet any existing federal designations designations set forth by the HRSA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and/or any other federal entity.

Do you operate an RHSP? Please consider participating in this 10-minute, voluntary, and confidential survey to share your experiences. Findings from this survey will be summarized in a brief report and will inform planning and policy conversations. This survey will close on September 7, 2020.

This survey will ask whether your organization has received several different types of resources to support COVID-19 response. The CARES Act created a couple of different pools of funds that health care providers might be able to access. For example, the CARES act Provider Relief Fund enables CMS to distribute federal funds to health providers in response to COVID-19. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which has received wide media coverage, was also established by the CARES Act and provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. PPP funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. Several state and local governments as well as community foundations have also provided funding to service providers to respond to COVID-19.

If you would like to participate in this survey, please click the ‘Next’ button below.

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This week’s #PeopleWorthKnowing interview features Dr. Alan E. Greenberg, Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at George Washington University, and Director at the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR).

Alan E. Greenberg is Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Professor Greenberg, a graduate of GW’s School of Medicine, returned to the University after a 23-year hiatus to become Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in August 2005. Deeply committed to cross-cutting partnerships that advance public health, he has developed numerous interdisciplinary initiatives among academic, community and government partners in Washington DC. Currently, Dr. Greenberg is:

• Director of the NIH-supported District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR)
• Principal Investigator of Public Health Partnerships between GW and the District of Columbia Department of Health and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
• Senior Co-Investigator of the NIH-supported DC Cohort and the GW HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Clinical Research Site (CRS)
• Secretariat for the NIH-DC DOH Partnership for AIDS Progress (PFAP)

Prior to joining the GWSPH, Dr. Greenberg served as a USPHS Commissioned Corps Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1985-2005, where he provided scientific leadership for domestic and international HIV epidemiologic research. He served as the director of CDC’s HIV research station in Cote d’Ivoire from 1993-1997, and Chief of the HIV Epidemiology Branch from 1998-2005. He was the recipient of the American Public Health Hero Award from Research America! in 2008, the Alvan R. Feinstein Award for Clinical Epidemiology from the American College of Physicians in 2015, and the Sizanani Award from Global Camps Africa in 2018.

You can visit DC CFAR’s website by clicking on the logo, below, and links to their various social media pages will be listed below.

The second Color Matters webinar – Incarceration – Beyond These Walls – will premiere on August 19th, 2020, at 6:00 PM Eastern.

This conversation will be moderated by Nikole Parker (Director of Special Projects, Equality Florida).

She will be joined by Navon Stephens (Trans Community Voice), Angela Hunt (Educator, Heart and Hands), and Omega Chuckii (Founder, Tranz of Anarchii, Inc.).

About the Guests

Nikole Parker is the TransAction Florida Project Coordinator, assisting with Equality Florida’s statewide Transgender Inclusion Initiative. She also currently works for the onePULSE Foundation as the Stakeholder & Community Relations Manager.

Nikole has sat on various non-profit boards within the community, including the LGBT+ Center Board of Directors, the Orlando United Assistance Center Advisory Board, TransAction Advisory Council, Spektrum Health Board of Directors and Peer Support Space Board of Directors.

In addition to her work with the onePULSE Foundation, Nikole co-leads the work of the Orlando Trans Collective, a collaborative group of transgender and gender non-conforming leaders of color who focus on community building and advocacy efforts for the Central Florida transgender community.

In 2018, Nikole was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year award by the Miss Glamorous Pageant. Nikole was also was recognized as one of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People of 2018 for her work with the onePULSE Foundation and her ongoing advocacy and empowerment of the transgender community.

In 2019, Nikole was recognized by Congressman Darren Soto for LGBT+ Pride Month and her biography was read into the Congressional Record. She hopes to encourage open dialogue on transgender issues and educate individuals from the community on healthy and safe ways to undergo a transition, finding self-care practices and providing resources so black market hormones and unsafe lifestyles can be avoided.

My name is Tai’Rance S Kelly Sr. B.K.A Omega Chuckii a native of “Chilanta” which is a cross of Chicago & Atlanta. I’m an educator, father, trainer, facilitator, empowerer activist, advocate & creator of my own organization, Tranz of Anarchii, Inc.

The goal is to detoxify the overall spectrum of MASCULINITY within both the trans and cis-gendered communities by healing, empowering, and bringing awareness to related issues; such as behavioral, mental, physical, parental, sexual, spiritual, and financial health. Tranz of Anarchii Inc. is also here to educate the African American community about rehabilitation and to protect our society by providing community residential services to residents prior to and after their discharge from incarceration. The primary goals are to develop self-discipline and promote skills required for continued rehabilitation, transitional initiatives, and positive re-entry into the community.

Angela Hunt is a public speaker and educator on wellness and health for the trans community. She brings experience in managing customer service teams, volunteer recruitment, and event coordination.

Angela volunteers as a peer mentor to transgender women in Orlando, FL, connecting them to services and providing social and emotional support as well as inspiration.

She served on the executive host committee for the 2018 U.S. Conference on AIDS and co-organized and co-chaired the Trans Lounge for the conference.

As a survivor of the foster care system, Angela went through a transformative journey to discover and reconnect with her own identity. She is known for being an excellent listener and is passionate about self love and wellness for transgender people, especially those living with HIV.

As a Black transgender woman diagnosed with HIV herself in 2011, Angela wants others to know that anything is possible once you accept and love yourself completely for who you are.

#CEGInWV is in the process of preparing #COVID19 Relief Packages for distribution to West Virginia residents across the state.

These packages will be backpacks containing face masks, hand sanitizer, personal hygiene supplies, educational materials on COVID-19, #HIV, and #ViralHepatitis testing, a localized resource guide (relative to the distribution points), and a gift card for purchasing food.

In just two weeks, we have secured an unprecedented 18 distribution partners for our COVID-19 Relief Packages.

We had initially planned on distributing only 500 packages, but ultimately received requests for 1,535.

As such, we have ordered a second round of supplies to put together a second round of distribution.

Round One will begin sometime in mid- to late-September, depending upon how quickly supplies arrive to put together the packages.

You can find a list of our distribution partners, below, as well as links to their respective websites.

CEG has launched a statewide survey for providers and People Who Use/Inject Drugs (PWUD/PWID, respectively) focusing on West Virginia’s 2007 legislative moratorium on opening any new Opioid Treatment Programs in the state.

In 2007, the West Virginia state legislature enacted a legislative moratorium (§16-5Y-12) on the opening of new Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP), halting in place the number of programs that prescribe and dispense Methadone for use in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

This moratorium limited the number of OTPs in the state to only 9 sites, statewide, who can legally provide MAT services using Methadone. It also prevents these facilities from opening secondary satellite locations, essentially locking in place where people can seek inpatient or outpatient MAT services using Methadone.

Since the passage of (§16-5Y-12), West Virginia’s opioid addiction crisis has raged out of control, leaving with the highest rate of Drug Overdose Deaths, the highest rate of new Hepatitis A infections, the highest rate of new Hepatitis B infections, and the second-highest rate of new Hepatitis C infections in the United States in 2018. In addition, Injection Drug Use (IDU) of both opioids, and stimulants accounted for 91 (62.3%) of the 146 new HIV infections in West Virginia in 2019.

The survey will gauge awareness of West Virginia’s 2007 Moratorium on the expansion of existing or opening of new Opioid Treatment Programs, as well as attitudes related to West Virginia’s Opioid Addiction Crisis. There are also sections related to Substance Use Disorder (SUD), SUD/OUD Treatment Provision, and the provision of other services that are inextricably linked to West Virginia’s opioid addiction crisis.

This survey takes between 5-30 minutes to complete, depending on how many questions pertain to the person taking this survey. Not every person surveyed will be required to answer every question.

To participate in our survey, either fill out the form, embedded below, or click on the button. Please note: the form scrolls within the page.

This week’s #PeopleWorthKnowing interview features Dr. Stephen Lee, Executive Director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD).

Stephen oversees all NASTAD programs – Health Care Access, Prevention, Hepatitis, Drug User Health, Health Equity, Policy & Legislative Affairs, and Health Systems Integration – as well as NASTAD’s overall operations. Stephen has deep expertise in program and organizational management, and his experience as a physician brings a practical perspective with regard to policy and program implementation.

Prior to joining NASTAD, Stephen was a global HIV expert for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, where for 13 years he managed the development and implementation of programs that provided prevention, care, and treatment services to individuals affected by HIV.

He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University, a degree in medicine from Emory University School of Medicine, an MBA from Heriot Watt University, and a post graduate diploma in health systems management from the University of London, School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

You can learn more about NASTAD by visiting clicking on their logo to visit their website and/or following them on social media.