Grant to enable ECMC to provide fresh food to for HIV/AIDS patients

Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation will receive a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grant award of $147,842, according to notification it received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

The grant will fund a pilot program to be administered through The YOU Center for Wellness (formerly Immunodeficiency Services) at ECMC in partnership with the African-American Food Co-Op to provide fresh food for HIV/AIDS patients co-diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. The grant program period extends from September through August 2021.

“We are grateful to HRSA for this grant,” said ECMC President and CEO Thomas J, Quatroche Jr., Ph.D. “These funds will now enable ECMC’s YOU Center to build on its comprehensive approach to address social determinates of health, specifically the health needs of these specific HIV/AIDS patients. Through this grant and the partnership with the African-American Food Co-Op, ECMC can further expand on its efforts to promote health equity in our community.”

Physician Jonathan Claus, medical director of The YOU Center for Wellness, ECMC, said, “Despite a multitude of medical advancements related to treatment and prevention, chronic disease management among patients living with HIV/AIDS remains a major public health issue. The formidable combination of social determinants of health and behaviors that contribute to worsening health outcomes, have kept the puzzle of successful chronic disease management in a steady state of incompletion for this vulnerable population. Food insecurity, a common social determinant of health, coupled with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, can have a tremendous impact on a patient’s ability to manage chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. The Ryan White Part C Capacity award will afford ECMC and The YOU Center for Wellness the opportunity to provide self-management education, behavioral modification techniques and fresh fruit and vegetable deliveries to our patients living with uncontrolled chronic conditions and HIV/AIDS.”