Project Goals

The goal of this MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC) project is to create a Prevention Community of Practice (P-CoP) focused on increasing HIV testing and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge and readiness to prescribe in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). As a result, increased numbers of health professionals at FQHCs will be able to competently deploy evidence-based prevention strategies, including PrEP, that focus on people who are at risk for HIV. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) supports this initiative to partner with Ending the HIV Epidemic-funded FQHCs in the MAAETC region to increase the numbers of health professionals prepared to provide PrEP, including improving access to care and patient outcomes.

Project Plan

The programs that will be used to accomplish these goals include:

• Quarterly CoP meetings (web-based with Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC FQHC colleagues)
• Share CQI goals; Learn best practices for implementing PrEP and other prevention strategies
• Training/Technical Assistance (ongoing, web-based, and on-site when permitted)
• Evidenced-based prevention strategies; HIV testing; Rapid Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) start, and PrEP
• Webinar series - prevention science and clinical interventions such as rapid ART start, HIV testing, and PrEP (including PrEP telehealth)
• MAAETC Clinician Consultation
• PrEP Clinical Preceptorships

2026-2027 BPHC Community of Practice

The participants for this project are currently being contacted by Debra D'Alessandro, Abby Plusen, Kelly Lowensen, and Rodney Lewis Jr. If you are not currently a part of the program but are interested in similar trainings or events please contact us at maaetc@pitt.edu. 

For an effective CoP, each participating health center commits to have at least one staff person (it does not have to be the same person each time) attend each of the five one-hour virtual sessions which will be held September 2026 through June 2027, on fourth Thursdays from noon to 1pm ET.

• At each meeting, as part of shared learning and best practices, participate in the case discussion regarding your health center’s PrEP efforts, strategies, protocols, challenges, etc.

What does the PrEP CoP provide?

• Opening “meet and greet” on Thursday, 9/24/2026, noon to 1pm: conversation to share your health center’s current stage of PrEP implementation, support/learn from other sites

• Expert case discussions: PrEP Landscape (10/22/2026): current and upcoming options in biomedical prevention; PrEP Access Issues (1/28/2027): managing insurance and patient assistance requirements, and community outreach; Improving PrEP Workflow (4/22/2027): staff roles, patient reminders, and EHR standing orders; and an additional topic (6/24/2027) identified by CoP members

• Connection with other FQHCs in MidAtlantic EHE jurisdictions to share your PrEP implementation experiences, and learning from the best-practices and the challenges of other health centers

2026-2027 BPHC Community of Practice Learning Sessions

• Thursday September 24, 2026, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET: BPHC PrEP CoP 2026-2027: Meet & Greet  
  • Join us to discuss the program, meet colleagues from other FQHCs and more!
• Thursday October 22, 2026, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET: BPHC PrEP CoP 2026-2027: PrEP Landscape  
  •  This event will be PrEP Fundamentals, what’s currently available, what is biomedical prevention and more!
• Thursday January 28, 2027, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET: BPHC PrEP CoP 2026-2027: Accessing PrEP - Insurance, Community Outreach and more  
  • This event will be about ACCESS to PrEP for HIV. We will discuss insurance, barriers to care, and communities who need more access to this prevention method.
• Thursday April 22, 2027, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET: BPHC PrEP CoP 2026-2027: Improving PrEP Workflow  
  • This event will be about Improving the PrEP Workflow at your clinic. We will discuss staff roles, patient reminders, and EHR standing orders among other topics. 
• Thursday June 24, 2027, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET: BPHC PrEP CoP 2026-2027: Needs and Next Steps (Specific topic to be determined by CoP members)  
  • This event will be focused on a topic requested by the CoP participants.

The MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC) is grant-funded by DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of an award of $3,463,090 and 0% financed with non-governmental sources. This project is supported by HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care and HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number TR7HA53201-01-00. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Any trade names for products mentioned are for training and identification purposes only. The contents of this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. 

For more information, please contact maaetc@pitt.edu.