Calling it “the largest investment in primary care in decades, if not ever,” HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, provided an overview of the impact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Affordable Care Act during her remarks at the opening plenary session of the Ryan White Grantee Meeting. Wakefield used a litany of numbers to make her case, noting, for example, that the Recovery and Reinvestment Act resulted in 1.6 million new patients at Community Health Centers, 127 new health center sites, and 10,000 new staff. According to Wakefield, significant investments in the health care workforce and Community Health Centers will continue as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.
Throughout her remarks, Wakefield made a strong link between improvements in primary care and the ability of people living with HIV to access care. She also highlighted expansion and changes in private insurance coverage and Medicaid that will benefit those with chronic diseases and reiterated the HRSA and CDC focus on increased access to HIV screening to help people learn their status and enter care. She linked this effort and health care reform initiatives to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Noting the role of the Ryan White Program as a model of care, she called it a “shining example of a community-based primary care model that works.”
Following Wakefield was a moving video on the history of the epidemic and the history and impact of the Ryan White Program. Ryan’s mom Jeanne White Ginder was welcomed with a standing ovation and recounted her journey from an insecure but determined mother to an eloquent and effective advocate. The crowd responded with applause and tears.
HRSA Associate Administrator for HIV/AIDS Deborah Parham Hopson, PhD, RN, FAAN, moderated the opening plenary and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius provided videotaped remarks.
