Positively Living & Choice Health Network
- Need: To provide healthcare and support to thousands of East Tennesseans living with HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness and dealing with LGBT discrimination.
- Intervention: Positively Living & Choice Health Network provides services like a medical clinic and pharmacy, therapy, client services like housing aid and transportation, and a harm reduction program.
- Results: The program currently serves 5,000 individuals and families through its offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and rural Cookeville and its mobile medical unit for rural communities.
Description
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, in 2020, there were 19,214 people in the state living with HIV, a rate of 281.4 per 100,000 people.
Positively Living & Choice Health Network is a public health nonprofit that provides healthcare and support to those living with HIV/AIDS as well as other vulnerable populations living in a rural 11-county region around urban Knoxville, Tennessee. Originally created as a day center in 1996 for people with HIV/AIDS, the program now serves those with:
- HIV/AIDS
- Homelessness
- Mental illness
- Substance use disorders
Services offered
The Knoxville office provides:
- Medical care, including primary care, pharmacy, and telehealth
- HIV prevention, including testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
- Client services, including emergency aid, case management, and therapy
- Harm reduction, including syringe exchange, naloxone, and education
- Harm reduction mobile outreach to rural Clairfield and Newport
The Chattanooga office provides:
- Telehealth
- HIV prevention, including testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
- Client services, including emergency aid, case management, and therapy
- Naloxone distribution
The Memphis office provides:
- Infectious disease and primary care
- Client services, including emergency aid, case management, and referrals
The rural Cookeville office provides:
- Telehealth
- Client services, including emergency aid, case management, and therapy
- Naloxone distribution
Results
Positively Living & Choice Health Network has offices in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and rural Cookeville and currently serves 5,000 individuals and families through a medical clinic, client services program, and harm reduction program. For the 2021/2022 fiscal year, the program:
- Served 97 PrEP clients
- Provided 598 HIV tests and 269 hepatitis C tests
- Served 3,095 harm reduction participants
- Provided 16,137 client visits
- Distributed 37,918 naloxone doses
- Provided mental health services to 78 clients
- Helped 94% of clients with HIV achieve viral suppression
Contact Information
Reece Rose, Prevention and Outreach ManagerPositively Living & Choice Health Network
865.525.1540 Ext. 135
reece@choicehealthnetwork.org
Topics
Behavioral health
HIV and AIDS
Housing and homelessness
LGBTQ+
Substance use and misuse
States served
Tennessee
Date added
November 13, 2018
Date updated or reviewed
December 20, 2022
Suggested citation: Rural Health Information Hub, 2022. Positively Living & Choice Health Network [online]. Rural Health Information Hub. Available at: https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/project-examples/1040 [Accessed 29 May 2023]
Please contact the models and innovations contact directly for the most complete and current information about this program. Summaries of models and innovations are provided by RHIhub for your convenience. The programs described are not endorsed by RHIhub or by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Each rural community should consider whether a particular project or approach is a good match for their community’s needs and capacity. While it is sometimes possible to adapt program components to match your resources, keep in mind that changes to the program design may impact results.