By combining offices, we are working to ensure compassionate, empathetic, and efficient service

Recent data show that while Arizona’s rate of HIV infection has gone up slightly from the previous year, the rate of death from complications from the disease has decreased. This positive trend is due to multiple prevention methods, but most prominently the use of antiretrovirals (ARVs) improve outcomes at the highest rate. Access to medication is vital to reducing deaths due to this disease. 

This important prevention and education is done by our Preparedness team members in the newly formed Office of HIV and Hepatitis C Services. 

At the Arizona Department of Health Services, we’re continually working to make access to preventative information and resources easy for the public to use and easy for health care providers and others to share. To help achieve that goal, we recently reorganized various sections of the agency to group teams doing similar work or serving similar populations together. 

At the end of last year, several offices reorganized to form a brand-new office: the Office of HIV and Hepatitis C Services (OHHS). Its mission is to support each other and its partners in providing the highest-quality health care through prevention services, care services, surveillance programs, education, and capacity building. The office accomplishes this by utilizing public health best practices with empathy, care, compassion, and inclusivity for all members of the community.

To celebrate its first year, OHHS has launched a brand new website, with subpages for each of our six programs, as a resource for our partners. In addition, OHHS has created subpages specifically for training and events and resources including data requests, standards of care, supply requests, and research. 

Program focus areas include:

• AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP): HIV medications, copay assistance, and insurance coverage for people with HIV.
• Ending the Epidemics (ETE): Cross-collaborative projects, training and workforce development, and community planning and engagement.
• Hepatitis C: Hepatitis C surveillance, prevention, treatment navigations, and community planning.  
• HIV Prevention: HIV testing, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP), condom distribution, behavioral interventions, and awareness and anti-stigma efforts.
• HIV Surveillance: Incidence and prevalence data collection, analysis, and reporting for people with HIV, including the HIV care continuum.
• Ryan White Part B: HIV care, case management, and supportive services for people with HIV. 

We’re proud of the OHHS team’s  hard work and accomplishments.  By the end of 2023 they had:

• Hosted the Annual Integrated HIV/STI/Hep C Symposium in April 2023. This event was held in-person for the first time since 2019, and had record attendance! 
• Launched the ADHS Hepatitis C Navigation Program to support people with hepatitis C to get connected to treatment, receive antiviral medications, and get cured.
• Released a brand-new Ryan White/ADAP Online Application Portal to streamline eligibility and renewals for all Ryan White and ADAP agencies statewide. 
• Trained hundreds of contractors and subrecipients statewide through the HIV Prevention Specialist Training and HIV Disease Investigation Services (DIS) training courses. 
• Published the 2023 Annual Report on HIV/AIDS in Arizona, analyzing and displaying HIV incidence and prevalence data for 2022. 

Have questions? We’d love to hear from you; contact us by emailing [email protected].