MCHD’s Ryan White Program receives national grant

October 11, 2022

MCHD’s Ryan White Program receives national grant

MOBILE, Ala. — The Health Resources and Services Administration has presented Family Health, the Mobile County Health Department’s (MCHD) primary care division, with a $150,000 grant to assist its Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP).

Part C Capacity Development grants help local, community-based organizations to provide comprehensive primary HIV medical care and support services in an outpatient setting for people with HIV through Early Intervention Services (EIS) program grants.

The RWHAP Part C also funds Capacity Development grants, which help organizations strengthen their infrastructure and their capacity to develop, enhance, or expand access to high-quality HIV primary health care services for people with HIV in underserved or rural communities.

Family Health (FH), the primary care division of MCHD which oversees the RWHAP, plans to use the funds to improve its data infrastructure and to build a more robust reporting system. MCHD/FH has been uniquely positioned to provide quality care to people living with HIV/AIDS since 1987.

Ryan White was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS after receiving a blood transfusion in December 1984. Living in Kokomo, Indiana, doctors gave him six months to live.

When Ryan tried to return to school, he faced AIDS-related discrimination in his Indiana community. Along with his mother Jeanne White Ginder, he rallied for his right to attend school. He gained national attention and became the face of public education about the disease.

Surprising his doctors, Ryan lived five years longer than expected. He died in April 1990, one month before his high school graduation. Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act in August 1990.

Since its inception in 1979, Family Health has provided services to the uninsured, underinsured, insured, and medically underserved populations of Mobile County. In addition to the general population, the center has also targeted special populations (such as migrant and seasonal workers, refugees, public housing residents, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Call 251-690-8889 for an appointment today.