Comprehensive Health Program

The clinical mission of the Comprehensive Health Program (CHP) in the Division of Infectious Diseases is to provide integrated, equity-focused, status neutral, gender affirming care to individuals living with HIV, at risk for HIV, or in need of sexual health services. CHP functions as a patient centered medical home (PCMH) and integrates Primary Care with specialty Infectious Disease services as well as collocated Behavior Health/Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services provided by multidisciplinary teams. CHP is a New York State (NYS) Designated AIDS Center (DAC), an NCQA designated Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH), and the only HIV program in NYS’ HealthHome model to function as a HealthHome Case Management Agency (CMA), thereby fully integrating comprehensive case management service providers into a clinical multidisciplinary team care model. We aim to serve those communities most impacted by HIV, especially those who are at increased risk for poor health outcomes due to stigma, structural racism, criminal justice involvement, serious and persistent mental illness, substance use, psychosocial trauma, poverty or disadvantaged in terms of social determinants of health. We also provide care to individuals with general infectious diseases.

Care is delivered in English and Spanish with an emphasis on comprehensive medical and psychosocial care as well as patient education, adherence promotion, complex care coordination, and family-centered interventions. The program additionally provides care on a 40-bed inpatient unit at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). CHP also embraces high quality clinical research initiatives through an active AIDS Clinic Trials Unit.

Bilingual Equity-Focused and Patient-Centered Services

The Comprehensive Health Program provides a wide range of services in English and Spanish. CHP’s care and care coordination teams oversees a multi-campus HIV Testing and Prevention Program, a multi-campus effort to identify individuals living with HIV who are lost-to-follow-up (LTFU) and effect meaningful reengagement, and a soon to be deployed Sexual Health Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). Our mission is to address multiple overlapping barriers to HIV prevention and treatment by applying multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach and delivering same-day walk-in care and wraparound services including:

HIV specialty and primary care for adults, adolescents, and children living with HIV
LGBTQIA+ Care
Transgender care
Prenatal/GYN HIV care
General pediatric care for families affected by HIV
HIV counseling, testing and linkage to care services
Antiretroviral adherence assistance programs
Basic and complex care coordination services
Nutritional services
Integrated care transition programs
On-site social work and mental health treatment
On-site medication-assisted therapy (MAT) for opioid use disorder
Dalbavancin infusion (analog of vancomycin with extended half-life): patients with barriers to care, unstable housing, PWUD
24-hour emergency on call system
Hepatitis , HIV treatment and prevention research and clinical trials

In addition to delivering care and prevention services to adolescent and adult patients, CHP is also involved in a number of research or programmatic initiatives and embraces high quality clinical research initiatives through an active AIDS Clinic Trials Unit.

Comprehensive Care

CHP is composed of three main care areas:

Medical Program, located on the sixth floor of the Harkness Pavilion includes clinicians, mental health specialists, a nutritionist, social workers, nurses, treatment adherence educators, care coordinators, and community navigators as well as on-site specialists in neurology, gynecology, and psychiatry.

Sexual Health Program, located on the third floor of the Vanderbilt Clinic (VC3) provides inclusive and comprehensive sexual health services including post and pre-exposure prophylaxis, STI testing and treatment in assition to behavioral, social work and mental health services for cis women and LGTBQI communities.

Project STAY (Services To Assist Youth), located on the fourth floor of the Vanderbilt Clinic, offers primary care services for youth between the ages of 13 and 24 years of age living with HIV or at risk for HIV.

As a New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)-designated AIDS center, CHP manages care across the care continuum, bridging inpatient, ambulatory and community-based needs. The clinic serves as the “medical home” for those striving to improve the physical, mental, and psychosocial welfare of clients through the provision of high quality, comprehensive care rendered in a culturally sensitive environment.