Bloomington Hospital - Positive Link

Overview

Positive Link is one of 12 Indiana care coordination sites for people living with HIV/AIDS. Based at Bloomington Hospital's Community Health Services, it serves seven counties in south central Indiana: Bartholomew, Brown, Greene, Johnson, Lawrence, Monroe and Owen. Its focus is on HIV prevention and extensive care coordination, including support for clients, families, partners and friends; transportation assistance; legal advocacy and referrals; medical referrals (including dental and ophthalmologic); substance abuse prevention and support; vocational rehabilitation referrals; and rental housing assistance, among other services.

Positive Link staff also assists clients with applications for medical insurance and income assistance programs. All services are provided at no cost to clients. It is also a community resource regarding HIV/AIDS education and awareness. Trained staff offers free presentations on an array of HIV-related topics, including HIV basics, STD overview, Hepatitis C prevention, and safer sex. In addition, under certain circumstances, on-site testing can be provided for some populations.

Impact

Positive Link has helped hundreds of individual clients and provided additional hundreds of home visits to others. Nearly 10,000 people have received HIV/AIDS education and awareness through community programs, and thousands have been tested for HIV.

Challenges/success factors

Positive Link provides a single point of access for the medical, financial, psychosocial, nutritional, wellness, and educational programs that address the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as their loved ones. It is a unique service in the hospital's service area and provides not only tangible services such as referrals and testing, but also the intangibles of unconditional support and friendship.

Future direction/sustainability

Positive Link is supported through grants from the Indiana State Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Department of Housing & Urban Development, and private and corporate donations. In addition, Positive Link continues to seek new avenues of revenue to expand programming as needed by clients. It is currently seeking funds to expand prevention programming to young men who have sex with men, as well as expanded housing services to clients who are homeless.

Advice to others

When attempting to reach at-risk and high-needs populations, it is imperative to be inclusive in the program development. Through focus groups, advocacy councils, and ongoing client surveys, Positive Link creates programs focused on the perceived needs of the client. Understanding their life experiences and addressing their priority needs helps to build rapport and trust. Only with a strong partnership with the client can you begin to effect change.

Contact: Jill Stowers
Positive Link Program Manager
Telephone: 812-353-9150
E-mail: jstowers@bloomingtonhospital.org