The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded LivWell Community Health Services (formerly Heartland CARES, Inc.) with a 5-year grant to implement program components that follow the pillars (Diagnose, Prevent, Treat and Respond) of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiatives. For the first year of this initiative, a total of $441,625 was granted to the agency and will be used to fund HIV testing events throughout the area, expanding testing services to include various STDs and Hepatitis C, offer more HIV prevention tools and hire additional staff to support the growing portfolio of offerings provided by LivWell Community Health Services. The goals and objectives of the program are to decrease the number of persons at high risk for HIV and increase the proportion of HIV-Positive people who know they are infected and are linked to appropriate services and care.
LivWell Community Health Services is one of only 96 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) nationwide, as well as the only CBO in Kentucky to receive funding as part of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) under its PS21-2102 “Comprehensive High-Impact HIV Prevention Programs for Community Based Organizations” program. Funding for this program will total approximately $210 million, over 5 years. The total funding that LivWell Community Health Services will receive from this grant is in-line with the average dollar amount awarded across all 96 CBOs ($442,624).
The first phase of the program will be the development phase, which will run through the end of 2021. Beginning in 2022, LivWell Community Health Services will then begin to implement all new services and initiatives in McCracken County, Christian County, Graves County and Calloway County. Currently, LivWell Community Health Services works with 26 counties in Western Kentucky and 17 counties in Southern Illinois. By year five of the grant program, all 43 serviced counties will be included in the new services and initiatives developed through this program. For more information regarding the agency and current services, please feel free to contact LivWell Community Health Services at (270)444-8183 or visit livwellchs.org.
