(Tampa, FL, November 1, 2007) Michael D. Knox, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Director, announced today that the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) at the University of South Florida has been awarded funding for two projects aimed at expanding HIV testing capacity in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The AETC is operated by the USF Center for HIV Education and Research within the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI).

The grants are awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which recently endorsed a new set of guidelines recommending routine HIV testing in a variety of health care settings. The goal is to identify a greater proportion of infected individuals than conventional risk-based testing models detect. Currently, an estimated 25% of all persons who are HIV infected do not know their status and are not receiving the care they need.

The first grant provides $95,000 in funding for the Florida/Caribbean AETC to partner with correctional facilities and STD clinics in Florida, in addition to hospital labor and delivery centers in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The second grant brings $200,000 of funding from the CDC in cooperation with the Florida Department of Health (DOH) to increase testing in Florida counties with the greatest racial and ethnic disparities among those living with HIV/AIDS. This initiative will mainly target hospital emergency rooms and labor and delivery rooms.

The Florida/Caribbean AETC will develop training curricula and educational materials for health care providers and their clients, provide technical assistance to establish rapid testing protocols in hospital delivery centers and emergency rooms, and collect and analyze data to monitor the progress of HIV testing efforts.  Hilda Leon, RN, will be responsible for perinatal training and technical assistance, and Research Assistant Jennifer Syvertsen will provide project coordination.

16th Annual HIV Conference held by Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center

(Tampa, FL - April 1, 2007) USF’s Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) held its 16th Annual HIV Conference March 30-31 in Orlando.  Director Michael D. Knox, PhD, was pleased to report a total of 468 registrants, representing 20 states, as well as two other countries in addition to Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.  The conference focused on the most up-to-date treatment for HIV and related conditions.  For the second year, a two-day track was presented in Spanish and this year an additional track was designed for pharmacists.  The AETC is operated by the USF Center for HIV Education and Research within the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI).

Evaluation data were exceptionally positive with participants indicating that all conference goals were met or exceeded.  On a scale from 1 (Not Met) to 5 (Exceeded), the average responses for each goal ranged from 4.1 to 4.4, with an overall average response of 4.3.  Almost all (96%) of respondents indicated an increase in their overall knowledge as a result of attending the conference and 88% indicated an increase in their capability to treat individuals living with HIV/AIDS. 

A successful conference requires a great deal of preparation and teamwork: Dr. Knox thanks Kimberly Alfonso for her conference coordination and Drs. Martha Friedrich and Jeffrey Beal who co-chaired the Conference Program Committee.

The 16th Annual Conference coincides with the 20th anniversary of the first AIDS-related conference held at USF in 1988, “AIDS: Mental Health Interventions”.  Sponsored by FMHI, it attracted 200 participants and was chaired by Dr. Knox.  Since 1988, HIV/AIDS has become a major health crisis worldwide, with alarming rates of infection in Florida and the Caribbean.  While therapies have begun to reduce the number of deaths due to AIDS, cases in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are almost twice the national rate.  At this year's opening plenary Dr. Knox identified two serious challenges we face in 2007: inadequate commitment to HIV/AIDS prevention and inadequate funding.

The AETC has trained more than 200,000 clinicians in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands and continues to provide education through workshops, hands-on supervised clinical training, case conferences and specialty conferences.  Valuable educational resources, conference handouts, and slide sets are available online at: http://www.faetc.org/Conference_16.

Photo: Dr. Michael Knox, Dr. Paul Arons, and Dr. Jeffrey Beal.  At the opening plenary, Dr. Arons was awarded the Annual AETC Appreciation Award in recognition of outstanding leadership in HIV education and quality care.  The AETC is thankful for his many years of dedicated service to health care providers and people living with HIV/AIDS.

(Tampa, FL - March 3, 2006) Michael Knox, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Director, announced today that the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) has developed a partnership with Walgreens Pharmacy. The AETC operates within the USF Center for HIV Education and Research at the University of South Florida.

According to Dr. Knox, “Walgreens approached our Marketing Coordinator, Jason Longo for an efficient solution to providing Antiretroviral Therapy guidelines to all of their pharmacists and he promptly created a special link to our online version, which we update regularly. When printed the cards are designed to be folded and carried in a lab-coat pocket for easy reference.”

Walgreens announced the drug reference card to 5000 stores and to all management by e-mail. Additionally, their “What's New” newsletter included information about the link. This link resides on every Walgreens Pharmacy computer (25,000 computer terminals). 20,000 pharmacists and 80,000 technicians are now able to view and print this at will. Walgreens is the largest drug store chain by sales, and second by store count. In 2005 alone, they fulfilled 490 million prescriptions.

Almost 6,000 Walgreens downloads were recorded by the AETC in the first 100 days. Feedback has shown that pharmacists are pleased to have this information available at their fingertips, and have found the card to be a valuable resource. This week the AETC added its “Antiretroviral Agents - Pediatric Edition” to the Walgreens terminals. The relationship will continue as new AETC resources are developed.

Click here to view all clinical pocket reference guides.

(Tampa, FL - October 1, 2005) Michael Knox, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Director, announced that the USF Center for HIV Education and Research has received a grant of $115,000 to increase the number of physicians capable of diagnosing and treating mental health and substance abuse disorders among HIV infected patients. Funding is provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) through a supplement to the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) grant.

Dr. Knox will serve as the Principal Investigator and Julie Baldwin, Ph.D., Professor of Community and Family Health, will provide leadership and coordination of the project. In addition, Martha Friedrich, Ph.D., Associate Director of the AETC, will help design a comprehensive approach to evaluate the project using outcome-based performance measurements. Department of Psychiatry faculty who will also have a major role in the project include Drs. Frank Fernandez (Chair), Carlos Santana, and Orlando Ruano. The grant work began in October.

Following an initial needs assessment related to HIV/AIDS and mental health co-morbidities, faculty will develop curricula and conduct several trainings for health care professionals who provide services for HIV infected patients throughout Florida and Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands

(Tampa, FL - July 1, 2005) Dr. Michael Knox, founder and director of the USF Center for HIV Education and Research, announced today that the center has been awarded a highly competitive, five year grant to provide HIV/AIDS training to healthcare providers in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, a region that ranks among the top ten states/territories affected by HIV. Awarded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the grant is the largest in the Center's history, and will allow for continuation and further development of its Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC).

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USF HIV Center Receives $350,000 Grant for Perinatal HIV Prevention Project

(Tampa, FL - July 1, 2005) The USF Center for HIV Education and Research has been awarded $350,000 by the Florida Department of Health. According to Dr. Michael Knox, director of the USF Center, “ Florida ranks second in the country for total HIV/AIDS pediatric cases. Of these cases, 94% were infected by perinatal transmission. This is particularly troubling when considering perinatal transmission of HIV can be prevented,” added Dr. Knox.

The Perinatal HIV Prevention Project will be coordinated by Shalewa Noel-Thomas, MPH. “Its primary purpose is to provide Perinatal HIV education to healthcare workers, review clinical procedures and protocols for HIV infected pregnant women, as well as provide training and technical assistance regarding Rapid HIV Testing,” stated Ms. Noel-Thomas. The funding was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a state of Florida contract.