The Ryan White Part A Program is a Federal program that funds providers of services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A). The program is a result of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (RW Act), named as a memorial to Indiana teenager Ryan White who contracted AIDS through a tainted hemophilia treatment in 1984. Ryan educated the public and Congress about HIV/AIDS before he died of the illness on April 8, 1990. The legislation was first enacted in 1990 and re-authorized in 1996, 2000, 2006 and 2009. Part A of the Act provides financial assistance to cities disproportionately affected by the epidemic. The Act provides funding help to communities and states to increase the availability of primary health care, support services, reduce utilization of more costly inpatient care, increase access to care for under served populations, and improve the quality of life of those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The program serves low-income, uninsured and underinsured persons living in a six-county service area that includes Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties. The six-county service areas comprise a local Transitional Grant Area (TGA). Cuyahoga County is the political subdivision most severely impacted by the epidemic. The criteria for TGA cities are those that have at least 1,000 but not more than 1,999 new cases of AIDS reported in the past five years and at least 1,500 cumulative living cases of AIDS as of the most recent calendar year.
Funds are allocated to specific services based on the decisions and recommendations of the Cuyahoga Regional HIV Services Planning Council. The Planning Council is a federally mandated planning body that meets monthly and is responsible for determining community needs, service categories and priorities, service usage and allocations for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the TGA. The Council was created in November 1995 to establish service priorities. The Planning Council is a 40 person planning body which must maintain at least 33% membership of persons living with HIV/AIDS whose members are appointed by the Cuyahoga County Executive and the City of Cleveland’s Mayor. The HIV epidemic demands comprehensive efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and to provide services to people who have HIV/AIDS. The Planning Council meetings are open to the public. Meeting dates and minutes of the meetings are available at this website.
 |
 |
The information contained in these pages was valid at the time of publication. The County of Cuyahoga reserves the right to make changes at any time and without notices, and assumes no liability for damages as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies.
| © CUYAHOGA COUNTY RYAN WHITE PART A PROGRAM 4261 Fulton Parkway Cleveland, Ohio 44144 (216) 348-3986 • (216) 698-6434 (fax) |
 |