FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

MAYOR LONDON BREED ANNOUNCES SAN FRANCISCO TO RECEIVE GRANT TO IMPROVE HIV CARE

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund City’s Project OPT-IN, a four-year demonstration to improve HIV patient outcomes

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will fund San Francisco’s Project OPT-IN, a four-year demonstration project to improve HIV-related outcomes by providing services to address critical gaps in HIV prevention and care services. The City is one of only two jurisdictions in the U.S. to be selected by the CDC for this funding. The grant will count for $2 million per year over the four-year cycle. 

Project OPT-IN is intended to help improve HIV-related outcomes and treat Hepatitis C by addressing gaps in services, while simultaneously working to transform healthcare delivery and practices to reduce the long-term need for such services. Examples of this will include homeless outreach, intensive case management, and other low-threshold support services.

“Over the past three decades, San Francisco has made significant progress toward reducing the number of new HIV infections each year, and improving the available services for people living with HIV,” said Mayor Breed. “As Mayor, I remain committed to our goal of Getting to Zero, which will take hard work. We also know that some segments of our population still suffer disproportionately high rates of HIV infections, like our homeless population. With Project OPT-IN, we are taking an important step forward in reaching that goal by providing critical and innovative services.”

Although the City has made great progress toward its Getting to Zero goals, not all parts of the population have benefitted equally. In 2017, 14% of people in San Francisco newly diagnosed with HIV were homeless. With an estimated 15,952 people living with HIV, San Francisco has one of the largest populations of people living with HIV in the United States.

Taking HIV medications daily, which is a greater challenge in the homeless population, not only improves the health of people living with HIV, but significantly reduces the risk of transmission to others. In 2016, 72% of all San Franciscans living with HIV were undetectable, meaning the levels of virus in the blood stream are so low that they can't be measured, but only 32% of people living with HIV and experiencing homelessness were undetectable. Project OPT-IN will help reach this vulnerable population.

“This funding will allow San Francisco to develop a collaborative program that will build trust with the community and strengthen our capacity to provide culturally competent and effective care for people experiencing homelessness,” said Tracey Packer, Director of Community Health Equity and Promotion for the Health Department.

###