The Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) project in the Dominican Republic celebrates the re-opening of the HIV Comprehensive Care Clinic at the Dr. Teófilo Hernández Hospital in El Seibo Province

The Eastern Regional Health Services Department celebrated the reopening of the HIV Comprehensive Care Clinic at the Dr. Teófilo Hernández Hospital in El Seibo Province, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday, March 15th, 2016.

Claudia Allers, Director of the Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) project in the Dominican Republic, led the ceremony with the Regional Director of Health, Dr. José Rodriguéz.

In his speech, the representative from the Ministry of Public Health explained that remodeling the clinic was part of the Expanded and Comprehensive Response (ECR) to the national HIV/AIDS epidemic underway in the five eastern provinces of the country, with technical support from the APC project.

Dr. Rodriquéz also thanked APC for providing technical assistance to implement a quality management system at the clinic, and for donating necessary equipment and furnishings to improve services for the 233 people living with HIV that are currently enrolled at the clinic.

“The reopening of the HIV Comprehensive Care Clinic at this hospital exemplifies the importance of making decisions and taking action based on the participation, joint efforts, and shared vision to ensure the provision of quality health services, free from stigma and discrimination,” stated Dr. Rodriguéz.

Other health authorities and NGO directors in the region also attended the event, as well as service providers from the hospital and representatives from key populations that the clinic serves.

The APC project

The goal of the APC project is to improve access to comprehensive, high quality HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for key populations including men who have sex with men, transgender persons, and sex workers.

To achieve this, APC works to strengthen the technical and organizational capacity of 22 non-governmental organizations in 14 provinces of the country through grantmaking, monitoring, and mentoring.

Expanded and Comprehensive Response (ECR) to the national HIV/AIDS epidemic

The Expanded and Comprehensive Response (ECR) to the national HIV/AIDS epidemic, known as the Respuesta Integral Expandida (RIE) in Spanish, is a pilot study being implemented in the Eastern region of the Dominican Republic. The pilot began in 2014 under the leadership of the Regional Health Services Department, with support from the APC project.

Within the context of the ECR, the Dr. Teófilo Hernández Hospital developed a continuous quality improvement plan with technical assistance from the Clínica de Familia, in La Romana province. This was the first public/private sector collaboration in quality of care in the Eastern region. Through the collaboration, the need to upgrade the facilities of the HIV clinic was identified.