Policy Updates: Hill Happenings and Administration Activities
Hill Happenings
Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
Appropriators in both parties are gearing up to resolve major political battles over federal spending in the 118th Congress, including resolving the national debt limit crisis and issuing Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024) appropriations bills. On February 15, Senate leaders announced appropriations committee assignments, finalizing the appropriations roster and subcommittee membership for the 118th Congress.
The progress made by spending committees comes ahead of the President’s Executive Budget Request to Congress, which is set to release on March 9. The Executive Budget is a non-binding budget recommendation that anchors spending discussions in Congress by providing a starting point for spending level allocations and highlighting the Administration’s policy priorities. Additionally, FY2024 spending talks could drag into the second half of the year as a result of high-stakes debt ceiling negotiations and House Republicans’ hard-line approach to spending cuts. NASTAD will continue to monitor the appropriations process and advocate for the highest funding level on behalf of HIV and hepatitis programs.
Resources
Date: March 19-21
As we look toward the 30th Anniversary of AIDSWatch, persistent advocacy of people living with HIV is necessary. March 19-21 will be the first time back in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this means more representation and support of people living with HIV is essential as we work to accelerate the work of the national ending the HIV epidemic strategy.
CDC Webinar & HIV Criminalization Tool: HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day
We would like to invite you to join our webinar on HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day, as we partner with ChangeLab Solutions and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, to bring together a dynamic team of experts at the forefront of HIV law, policy, and research to discuss the importance of HIV decriminalization, CDC’s new HIV Criminalization Legal and Policy Assessment tool, and the path towards a more equitable future. Don’t miss this engaging discussion on Tuesday, February 28, at 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET. Please share this opportunity and registration link with other public health practitioners, policymakers, and other partners involved in HIV prevention.
HHS-ONC Toolkit: Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Toolkit
The Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Toolkit (Toolkit) can support communities working toward achieving health equity through SDOH information exchange and the use of interoperable, standardized data to represent SDOH. Stakeholders are increasingly planning and implementing information exchange initiatives to better coordinate and address SDOH service delivery challenges.
The Lancet: Mpox in people with advanced HIV infection: a global case series
“People living with HIV have accounted for 38–50% of those affected in the 2022 multicountry mpox outbreak. Most reported cases were in people who had high CD4 cell counts and similar outcomes to those without HIV. Emerging data suggest worse clinical outcomes and higher mortality in people with more advanced HIV. We describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of mpox in a cohort of people with HIV and low CD4 cell counts (CD4 <350 cells per mm3).”
Call for Presentations: Hepatitis Community Collaborative (HC2)
Presentation Proposal Deadline: March 10, 2023
Event Date: April 25, 2023
NASTAD and The AIDS Institute (TAI) are pleased to host the third Hepatitis Community Collaborative (HC2)! Following HC2 events in 2020 and 2021, we are excited to re-convene as a group of hepatitis advocates, infectious disease experts and people with lived experience (PWLE) and provide updates on what communities are doing to combat viral hepatitis. The one-day, virtual and free convening will provide advocates with a platform for cross-jurisdiction learnings and innovative approaches via presentations, peer-to-peer information sharing, dialogue and forums.
2023 Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) - CDC
Deadline: February 28
On behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we invite you to partner with us as we launch the 2023 Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) host site recruitment initiative. PHAP is seeking exceptional sites to host an associate from October 2023 to October 2025. Public health organizations have hosted associates working in a variety of public health areas, such as prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, HIV, and other communicable diseases; chronic disease prevention; environmental health; public health preparedness; immunization; injury and violence prevention; maternal and child health promotion; accreditation; and access to healthcare. PHAP is a paid two-year, on-the-job, training program for early-career public health professionals. PHAP currently has more than 300 associates fulfilling hands-on workforce needs at host sites across 47 states, the District of Columbia, and 4 US territories. Associates are employed by CDC and work in state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments; nongovernmental organizations; public health institutes and associations; academic institutions; and community-based organizations. If you need more information about PHAP or the application process, please don’t hesitate to email phap@cdc.gov or call 404-498-0030.
APHL Conference: ID Lab Con
Date: March 13 – 15, 2023
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Register today for ID Lab Con, a new APHL conference focused on the latest developments in detection and characterization of infectious diseases of public health concern! Join public health laboratory professionals, clinical laboratorians, epidemiologists, leading researchers and diagnostics manufacturers to share the latest findings, technologies and developments and to generate solutions to infectious disease challenges.
Job Postings
Sr. Health Program Manager – Mecklenburg County, NC
The Sr. Health Program Manager supervises a wide variety of public health functions, including the coordination of HIV/STD investigations, surveillance, and enforcement activities. This position also oversees the coordination of the Ryan White HIV case management Program activities. The Sr. Health Program Manager is also responsible for aligning the strategic goals of the program(s) with those of the Public Health Department and the County, implementing strategies to achieve these goals, assuring compliance with state and federal requirements and for providing professional/technical administrative management and direction for program managers and supervisors. Apply by March 6.
Section Manager – Quality Evaluation and Epidemiology – Lansing, MI
This position is responsible for the overall administration of the statewide Quality, Evaluation and Epidemiology Section in the Data and Operations Division within the Bureau of HIV/STI Programs. This section includes 3 units, Quality and Evaluation, Special Studies, and Epidemiology. This position is responsible for overall functions related to Ryan White Quality Management, implementation of the MMP and NHBS projects, grant related and program related evaluation of Bureau-wide activities, and epidemiology for HIV and STI programs. This position uses high level staff to create data products and processes to improve program outcomes for internal staff, external stakeholders, people affected by HIV/STI in collaboration with CDC, HRSA, and all Bureau staff. This staff person also oversees collaborations with important MDHHS programs like Medicaid, Communicable Diseases, Vital Records, the Compliance Office, etc. This position assures the scientific integrity of epidemiology and data products released by the Bureau and assures the use of data and epidemiology for program improvement. Apply by March 1, 2023.
HIV/STD Prevention Strategic Initiatives Coordinator – Portland, OR
In this role, you will coordinate cross-programmatic HIV and STD prevention initiatives and activities with local, state, and national partners to meet population-level public health goals to decrease the transmission, prevalence, and impact of HIV and STDs in Oregon. You will develop goals, objectives, policies and actions for HIV and STD prevention in Oregon, which include but is not limited to, statewide HIV/STD testing, PreP access, expanding 340B in carceral settings, and coordinating HST harm reduction activities. Apply by March 15.
Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC
- Chief, Prevention Branch, DVH
- NCHHSTP/DVH is recruiting for an exceptional candidate for the position of Prevention Branch Chief, Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH), National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP). The incumbent will serve as Chief in the Prevention Branch, Division of Viral Hepatitis, and will participate in the division’s senior management team responsible for directing the development, administration, implementation, and evaluation of national programs to prevent and control viral hepatitis. The incumbent provides advice to the Division Director on medical and scientific policy and practices associated with program, education, and research activities in support of viral hepatitis prevention and control, including harm reduction.
Boulder County AIDS Project – Boulder, Colorado
- Prevention Coordinator: The primary duties of this position are to provide HIV/HCV/STI testing, syringe access, and street outreach services, as well as outreach education at community partner locations and events. This position provides these services in collaboration with other Prevention Department staff and key community partners, as well as enters data into databases and completes monthly reports. This position reports directly to the Prevention Director, and attends staff, department, and community partner meetings.
- Bilingual Medical and Housing Case Manager: The focus of this position will be to ensure efficient delivery of quality medical case management services to clients who are living with HIV through assessment, planning, service procurement, delivery, coordination, and monitoring, ensuring all services are offered in an inclusive, respectful and professional manner. The Bilingual Medical and Housing Case Manager reports directly to the Care Services Director and is required to attend All Staff meetings, Care Services team meetings, Clinical Consultations, Finance Committee meetings and to keep all client data up to date for reporting purposes. Because this position manages confidential information for clients, the Bilingual Medical and Housing Case Manager must demonstrate the highest degree of professionalism.
Florida Department of Health – Palm Beach County
To apply, please send resumes to Robert Scott, Robert.Scott@flhealth.gov. These are all $20/hr, in-office roles with possible remote flexibility.
- EHE Navigator: This position’s work will be actively guided by the Palm Beach County Ending the Epidemic (EHE) Plan, including the four pillars and their goals, objectives, strategies and activities. Incumbent will assist in the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of the goals, objectives, strategies and activities set forth in the Palm Beach County Ending the Epidemic (EHE) Plan, in collaboration with other Area 9 EHE funding recipients, to include, but not limited to: Palm Beach County, FoundCare, and Florida Community Health Centers.
- PrEP Navigator: This position’s work will be actively guided by the Palm Beach County Ending the Epidemic (EHE) Plan, including the four pillars and their goals, objectives, strategies and activities. Incumbent will link high-risk negative persons to available Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and non-occupational Post Exposure Prophylaxis (nPEP) services with the goal of significantly reducing the number of new HIV infections among high-risk populations. Incumbent will assess and increase the knowledge, desirability, accessibility, and adherence of PrEP among referred high-risk individuals.
- Digital Media Manager: This position is responsible for developing and coordinating the area HIV digital media presence through multiple platforms. Developing digital marketing strategies, creating social media content, collaborating with community partner organizations, and creating new ad campaigns to advance Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) in Palm Beach County. Tracking data from digital campaigns to assist with EHE goals.
Executive Director, Hepatitis Education Project (HEP) – Seattle, WA (partially remote)
Reporting to a Board of Directors and in partnership with a staff of 19, the ED will lead the evolution of HEP as the organization reviews its impact to date and plans for the future in the fields of viral hepatitis and drug user health both locally and nationally.
Deputy Medical Director, HIV/STI/Viral Hepatitis/Harm Reduction – Nashville, TN
This position will serve as the Statewide Deputy Medical Director in the HIV/STI/Viral Hepatitis section. The position has cross-cutting responsibility in all program areas with potential for promotion in succession plans. Primary responsibilities include leadership and oversight of cross-cutting programs related to End the Syndemic Tennessee to tackle HIV, sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis and substance use disorder in an integrated manner with an outward-facing, community-engaged process.
Program Content and Training Specialist, Supporting Harm Reduction Programs (SHaRP) – University of Washington
This position is part of a cooperative agreement award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide technical assistance about monitoring and evaluation to syringe services programs (SSPs) as part of the National Harm Reduction Technical Assistance Center. One of the primary projects of this award is to provide technical assistance (TA) to SSPs for monitoring and evaluation activities. The University of Washington is working in collaboration with the CDC, SAMHSA, NASTAD, the National Harm Reduction Coalition, and other TA partners to provide a suite of technical assistance support to individual programs.
Communicable Disease Epidemiologist – Cheyenne, Wyoming
This position will serve as the Communicable Disease AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Coordinator, Wyoming TB Controller, and Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) for the Communicable Disease (CD) Treatment Program. Assist in outbreak response to ensure the safety of Wyoming residents; by interviewing cases for exposure information, updating news outlets on the progress of outbreak control, analyzing exposure data utilizing epidemiological and statistical methods.
Assistant Commissioner - Health Department – Baltimore, Maryland
The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) is seeking an Assistant Commissioner to lead the Bureau of Communicable Disease and Outbreak Control. This senior management position will lead a talented team responsible for communicable disease investigation, outbreak control and emergency preparedness programming. The incumbent will also be responsible for developing and implementing agency wide policies related to health department readiness to respond to public health emergencies. The incumbent will report directly to the Deputy Commissioner for BCHD’s Division of Population Health & Disease Prevention.
Open Positions – New York State
The New York State Department of Health, in partnership with Health Research, Inc, has various job openings, including some within the AIDS Institute. Please visit this link to learn about their current opportunities.
News Bulletin
America has lost the war on drugs. Here’s what happens next
“One example is the so-called “crack house statute.” This federal law subjects anyone to steep penalties, including decades in prison, if they maintain a building for the purpose of using illicit drugs. It was enacted at the height of the crack epidemic but is currently being used to stymie supervised consumption sites, which are fundamentally different from crack houses. At supervised consumption programs, people bring their own drugs, including heroin, and use them under the supervision of staff who have been trained to reverse overdoses, promote safer drug use and in some cases help people access treatment. With several states now considering, planning or starting supervised consumption programs, federal officials should make it clear that the people operating them will not face prosecution.”
US Plans to Allow Medicaid for Drug Treatment in Prisons
“The federal government is planning to allow states to use Medicaid funds to provide drugs to combat addiction and other medical services for people at state jails and prisons in an effort to help some of those most at risk of dying in the nation's overdose epidemic. Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced Tuesday that states would be encouraged to submit proposals for how to use money from the joint federal-state low-income health insurance program for incarcerated people. Those that do would be required to provide mental health and drug treatment and would have the option to add some other services.”
Report Challenges Court Decision on PrEP and Public Health
“A new report from a team of medical, public health, and legal experts challenges a federal court decision ruling it unconstitutional to mandate employer-sponsored insurance coverage of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a highly effective biomedical measure for preventing HIV. The decision, the authors show, fails to address the scientific evidence, slights the compelling public interest in HIV prevention, engages in invidious stereotyping of LGBTQ people, and creates a loophole by which employers could deny insurance coverage for nearly any medical condition for any group whose conduct is disfavored by a religious belief.”
New Mexico’s Effort to Authorize Safe Consumption Sites
“New Mexico lawmakers are working to pass a bill to open safe consumption sites (SCS, also known as overdose prevention centers) in the state. If successful, it would make New Mexico just the third jurisdiction in the United States to authorize this approach to saving the lives of people who use drugs.”