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DAP Innovates With HIV Self-Testing

by Dustin Gruber

Contact:
Jack Bunting
[email protected]
(760) 323-2118

April Cruz
Diagnostic Testing and Outreach Manager
(760) 656-8425

DAP Innovates With HIV Self-Testing

Palm Springs, CA -- April 17, 2020 – Desert AIDS Project isn’t letting COVID-19 get in the way of HIV testing for those who need it at recovery centers and treatment facilities. Although social distancing measures have required Community Health personnel to cease in-person groups until further notice, an innovative approach by DAP will provide 500 HIV self-test kits to these facilities and treatment centers, preventing dangerous delays in HIV testing. These tests are grant-funded.

Counselors at recovery centers and treatment facilities in the Coachella Valley are accustomed to experts from DAP visiting them to conduct HIV testing, treatment, and education onsite for their clients.

For anyone seeking services at the DAP campus, HIV testing there remains completely safe and open during this health crisis. But self-HIV testing is also available for routine testers who do not want to come into public for their HIV testing.

Anyone interested in finding out more should call April Cruz, diagnostic testing and outreach manager at (760) 656-8425.

Follow up support and linkage to ongoing care with DAP is always offered to anyone testing positive for HIV.

The CDC recommends that offering HIV testing at recovery centers and treatment facilities is highly effective to identify HIV positive individuals who are unaware they are HIV positive, opening a crucial window of opportunity to link them to life saving care.

Without routine testing, we cannot end HIV in the Coachella Valley. But for people in residential recovery, or who are incarcerated, access to HIV testing during the COVID-19 crisis has largely stopped.

Combined with HIV education Zoom sessions, counselors from DAP will complement the self-HIV tests by making a connection that can inspire personal change in those who need it most.

Zoom meetings are being used to make sure DAP Community Health educators like Jose De La Cruz can still talk to groups and their counselors in a communal setting, encouraging them to consider their health and recovery, and then offering them practical tools to do so.

“I wanted to continue the work I’ve been doing for more than 25 years at DAP,” De La Cruz said. “At least for now, videoconferencing and self-swab is the most effective way we can keep helping people in recovery during COVID-19.”

People with substance abuse disorders or who misuse substances, people who trade sex for drugs, and people who have sex while intoxicated, are at high risk for becoming infected with HIV. (CDC)

According to De La Cruz, many entering these settings have never been tested for HIV.

More than half of Americans aged 18–64 have never been tested for HIV, which makes it more likely they will spread it to unsuspecting partners. Not knowing has other another pitfall; one in three Americans who test positive for HIV is tested too late to get the full advantage of treatment. (CDC)

“With the emphasis on preventing the spread of COVID-19, we don’t want our services to be lost,” said De La Cruz. “We knew we needed to find a way quickly to prevent a lapse in reaching people while they are already trying to get help.”

This is also an opportunity for patient-facing staff at the recovery facilities to add HIV testing and training to their pre and post counseling skillsets, which typically cover other risk factors in an overall treatment plan. DAP provides training for counselors in these settings, with the goal of changing lives and stopping the spread of HIV and STIs in the Coachella Valley.

Parking Lot Van Testing at DAP

We have parked our mobile testing van in the DAP lot and it’s open to provide continuous access to HIV, HCV and STI testing and treatment, plus access to PrEP and PEP. The DOCK is still open in our Green Clinic, but some of our clients feel better accessing services without entering a building. This is also a great way to get linked into primary medical and behavioral healthcare if needed. Why not have a chat in the fresh air with one of our specialists about your health? For more information, please call

DAP is still fighting the HIV, STI and HCV epidemics amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“We have increased our range of testing to fit our clients’ needs, whether it’s in the mobile clinic, The DOCK, and for specifically HIV, this self-test,” said C.J. Tobe, director of Community Health. “We will do whatever it takes to offer HIV, STI and HCV testing, and then link anyone to treatment immediately if they need it.”

What Is A Syndemic?

Together, HIV, HCV and STIs create a syndemic—a set of linked health problems that interact synergistically and exacerbate poor health outcomes.

For example, having an STD increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV.  Among people who are living with HCV and HIV, HCV progresses faster and more than triples the risk for liver disease, liver failure, and liver related death. These epidemics are also driven by similar social and economic conditions and disproportionately impact many of the same disadvantaged communities.

About End The Epidemics

The California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Centers, together with HIV, viral hepatitis, and STD community-based organizations across California, have launched a community-driven effort to inform development of a statewide plan to end the HIV, HCV, and STD epidemics in California. What makes this initiative innovative and unique – in addition to community leadership – is its ambitious goal of addressing these health conditions as a syndemic – a set of linked health problems that interact synergistically and exacerbate poor health outcomes. The syndemic approach differs from the biomedical approach in that it treats diseases concurrently and also addresses the social determinants of health that drive these epidemics. To learn more, visit: www.chprc.org/end-the-epidemics/

Useful Links

About Desert AIDS Project

Desert AIDS Project (DAP) is a Federally Qualified Health Center in Palm Springs, CA offering DAP Total Care – a combination of medical, dental, counseling, social services, support groups, alternative therapies, in-house pharmacy and lab, and other health and wellness services. DAP’s sexual health clinic, The DOCK, offers STI testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and HCV testing. DAP’s Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign, the nation’s first region-wide free HIV testing and access to care initiative, was recognized by the White House for helping to bring about an AIDS-free future. DAP has earned a “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator for the twelfth consecutive year – landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that we exceed industry standards in terms of our financial health, accountability, and transparency.

Visit www.desertaidsproject.org, www.thedockclinic.org, and www.gettestedcoachellavalley.org to learn more.

Weekend Wrap Message – Saturday, A …

by Dustin Gruber
DAP Logo Weekend Wrap

DAP's Courage and Creativity During COVID 

Weekend Wrap Message- Saturday, April 18, From David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO

Creatively and courageously, together we are providing continuous care and growing our COVID-19 Triage Clinic resulting in the reduction of lives lost. This week I’d like to showcase innovations to reach at-risk populations, despite the challenges of social distancing.

Dental Services on the Frontline

The DAP Dental Team is critical to our frontline response.  Although dental practices in California have suspended routine care to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, our dedicated Dental Team is committed to the health of our patients and is available for urgent and emergency care. DAP dental patients who have a dental emergency should call 760-992-0460.

Sex During a Pandemic

A lesson learned from the AIDS pandemic is that people yearn to feel connected, especially during times of uncertainty.  Shaming people for having sex didn’t work in the 80s, and it is not an effective strategy now.  I am not condoning hooking up during this pandemic, but I am a realist and DAP is responding:

  1. Mobile Testing Van

DAP is expanding its efforts to fight the HIV, STI and HCV epidemics amid the COVID-19 crisis. We doubled our capacity by operating our mobile testing van in the DAP parking lot and operating The Dock in our Green Clinic.  Both sites provide access to HIV, HCV and STI testing and treatment, plus PrEP and PEP. Both sites are also a direct way to get linked into primary medical and behavioral healthcare.

  1. Free at Home HIV Test Kits For Highest Risk Clients

Without ongoing testing, we cannot end HIV in the Coachella Valley.  If you normally receive HIV testing at DAP and you have self-quarantined, and want to self-test at home, call April Cruz, Diagnostic Testing and Outreach Manager at (760) 656-8425.

For people in residential recovery or who are incarcerated, access to HIV testing stopped. DAP’s Community Health Department is responding by combing HIV education via Zoom and the provision of self-HIV test kits. Anyone testing positive will receive ongoing support and medical care at DAP or through referrals.

COVID-19 Triage Clinic

As of Friday, our clinicians tested 250 people for COVID-19. We continue seeing a 10-to-11 percent positivity rate. Our healthcare workers monitor patients who test positive via telemedicine, and our staff and volunteers provide food and transportation as needed.

Drive-Up Services

Our first week offering Drive-Up services for possible COVID-19 related symptoms allowed us to: 1) test more people and 2) freed up much needed space inside our Triage Clinic to treat our highest risk patients.

As we innovate to create additional services at DAP our care for our community continues.  A successful response takes all of us.  I thank you for your partnership.    

Local Foundations Support DAP

We are grateful to Desert Healthcare District & Foundation for funding COVID-19 rapid test kits, and supporting the provision of healthcare to 7,000 DAP clients, regardless of their HIV status. Grants totaling $800,000 will be divided between Borrego Health, Clinicas de Salud Del Pueblo and DAP.

The Auen Foundation is benevolently backing our frontline response. Through a $50,000 grant, The Auen Foundation is helping to underwrite to costs of our COVID-19 Triage Clinic personnel and medical supplies.   

Weekend Wrap Message – Saturday, A …

by Dustin Gruber
DAP Logo Weekend Wrap

Weekend Wrap Message - Saturday, April 11, From David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO

This week Desert AIDS Project refocused and expanded healthcare access. I could not be prouder of our team and their work to ensure everyone in our valley has the opportunity to receive care.

As of Friday, our COVID-19 Triage Clinic conducted over 200 tests with an eleven percent positivity rate. But our care doesn't end with a test. Each person receives a personal call and when needed is provided access to ongoing medical care, a therapist, support groups and food delivered to their doors.

DAP launched Drive-Up Testing outside our COVID-19 Triage Clinic. With this expansion:

  • DAP can double the number of people served each day;
  • divert patients, who are not seriously ill, from emergency departments;
  • and conserve space inside our COVID-19 Triage Clinic for people whose symptoms are more severe.

An appointment is required for Drive-Up Testing. Call our COVID-19 hotline at (760) 992-0407 to speak with a DAP healthcare worker. Getting respiratory illness symptoms checked by a clinician is important, especially a dry cough or a fever of 100.4 or higher.

“These are the folks who have been told to stay home with their symptoms,” said Dr. Christopher Foltz, leader of the COVID-19 Triage Clinic at DAP. “We don’t want to miss anyone.”

Accessing Primary, Behavioral & Sexual Health:

  • Our Blue Clinic and Green Clinic teams spent the week reaching out to DAP patients to ensure a continuum of primary care, virtually or in person.120 primary care Virtual Visits were conducted in the last six days.
  • Our Behavioral Healthcare team used virtual health to respond to patients’ stress and anxiety, conducting 94 Behavioral Health Virtual Visits in the last six days.
  • Our Community Health team developed a strategy to use our mobile testing van to make sure no one experiences interrupted access to HIV and STI testing and treatment, or access to PrEP and PEP. Parked in the DAP back parking lot, we welcome walk-ins for these services, as well as follow-up services, utilizing our Get Tested mobile testing van. 

About Me Testing Positive:

And I decided to share my personal story about testing positive for the COVID-19 virus via The Desert Sun which published on Thursday, April 9. I followed up with NBC Palm Springs and Kitty Alvarado on Friday. 

Valley Voice:  DAP is responding to coronavirus for our Coachella Valley community 

I was tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, at Desert AIDS Project’s COVID-19 Triage Clinic, and that test came back positive on March 29. My doctor recommended I get the test after I developed symptoms - cough and fatigue. I’m grateful to be recovering while working at home.

At first, I chose to keep this private because I did not want to take any focus away from the care team at DAP who are responding to this crisis and serving our patients.  

At this time, I am reflecting on the men and women who worked at DAP at the beginning of the AIDS pandemic. They could not have seen the future in the midst of the AIDS crisis. 

Then, like now, some are struggling with fear and fear can lead to inaction, depression, withdrawal, stigma, substance abuse, and eventually death. We know, because the founders of DAP taught us that fear has never been and will never be the solution.

I believe DAP’s founders would tell us today that we have a choice. We can chose to be fearful or hopeful and brave. We can believe that every moment of our life was preparing us for today. Because it was.  

The history of DAP provides a glimpse into the future.  Our history shows that we will dramatically decrease the loss of lives from COVID-19 in our community and we will prevent new infections. We will respond with compassion and we will rely on facts instead of fear in our response.  

It’s in the very DNA of Desert AIDS Project to respond quickly to public health crises using science and medicine to create a humanitarian response. We are using our tested roadmaps from the HIV and HCV epidemics to respond to COVID-19. Helping people survive epidemics in the Coachella Valley has been the core specialty of DAP for 35 years. With the largest infectious disease team of clinicians in this region of California, DAP offers expert medical care, anchored by a deep understanding of Coachella Valley epidemiology.

I truly believe the work we’re doing at DAP right now will be a case study for how to respond in a public health crisis for decades to come. As a team, and an organization, DAP is showing what is possible when we work together to change the course of this pandemic and help navigate our community through it.

DAP opened our COVID-19 Triage Clinic on March 16. The uninsured are never turned away. If you believe you might be symptomatic or need information about testing, please call our COVID-19 hotline at (760) 922-0407. 

This experience has reinforced my belief that no person in our valley should be without healthcare. If you or someone you know needs access to primary or behavioral health care, DAP is here for you.

Desert AIDS Project CEO Recovering After …

by Dustin Gruber

Desert AIDS Project CEO Recovering After Testing Positive for COVID-19; continues to lead DAP’s response efforts.

Contact: Steven Henke

[email protected]
(612) 310-3047

 

Press Release

Palm Springs, CA April 9, 2020 —David Brinkman , CEO of Desert AIDS Project, was tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, at Desert AIDS Project’s COVID-19 Triage Clinic. The test came back positive on March 29. Brinkman sought testing after experiencing a cough and fatigue.  He is recovering while self-quarantined at home.

Local writer Daniel Vailancourt spoke with David Brinkman about his experience with COVID-19, read the interview here.

“I chose to keep this private at first because I did not want to take any focus away from the care team at DAP responding to this crisis and serving our patients,” Brinkman said.

Desert AIDS Project opened its COVID-19 Triage Clinic on March 16. In addition to testing, the clinic provides treatment for symptoms of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses that can present in a similar manner. Those without insurance coverage are never turned away.

Brinkman has remained at the forefront of DAP’s response to the pandemic while self-quarantining at home. DAP launched two new services for testing and care including Virtual Visits for DAP’s clients unable to leave their homes, and drive-through testing outside its COVID-19 Triage Clinic to provide access to larger numbers of community members seeking care. “This experience has reinforced my belief that no person in our valley should be without healthcare,” said Brinkman. “We are opening DAP’s doors even wider to community members who need access to care during this crisis.”

“It’s in the very DNA of Desert AIDS Project to respond quickly to a public health crisis using science and medicine to create a humanitarian response,” said Brinkman. “We are using our tested roadmaps from the HIV and HCV epidemics to respond to COVID-19." Helping people survive epidemics is in the Coachella Valley has been the core specialty of DAP for 35 years. With the largest infectious disease team of clinicians in this region of California, DAP offers expert medical care, anchored by a deep understanding of Coachella Valley epidemiology.

The team at Desert AIDS Project has been adaptive in their approach and quick in their response to ensure continuous care for our patients and clients.

  • Desert AIDS Project launched MyChart Virtual Visit, a digital solution that ensures our patient's continuum of care from the comfort of their home. MyChart Virtual Visit is an easy and reliable way for them to meet with their clinicians. Click here to learn more about MyChart Virtual Visit. Our patients still have the option for an in-person meeting with their clinician in our Blue Clinic or Green Clinic on the DAP campus.
  • Testing and symptom treatment in DAP's COVID-19 Triage clinic continues daily. 
  • DAP is still welcoming new clients during the COVID-19 health crisis. Services available include:
    • Primary Care
    • Specialty Care for HIV and Hep C
    • Behavioral Healthcare
    • Emergency Dental Care
    • Sexual Health Services at The DOCK
    • Social Services like case management, food assistance, transportation, housing and home care.
  • The DOCK, temporarily housed in DAP’s Green Clinic, continues to see patients who have questions about their sexual health, testing for STI's and HIV while our PrEP navigators continued to provide access to this prevention method.
  • DAP's Social Service and Community Health teams launched home delivery of essential supplies, including food for our most vulnerable clients ensuring they don't need to leave their home to go to the grocery store during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you believe you might be symptomatic or need information about testing, please call our COVID-19 hotline at (760) 992-0407.

About Desert AIDS Project

Desert AIDS Project (DAP) is a Federally Qualified Health Center in Palm Springs, CA offering DAP Total Care – a combination of medical, dental, counseling, social services, support groups, alternative therapies, in-house pharmacy and lab, and other health and wellness services. DAP’s sexual health clinic, The DOCK, offers STI testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and HCV testing. DAP’s Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign, the nation’s first region-wide free HIV testing and access to care initiative, was recognized by the White House for helping to bring about an AIDS-free future. DAP has earned a “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator for the twelfth consecutive year – landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that we exceed industry standards in terms of our financial health, accountability, and transparency.

Visit www.desertaidsproject.org, www.thedockclinic.org, and www.gettestedcoachellavalley.org to learn more.

Coming Out All Over Again

by Dustin Gruber

Coming Out All Over Again

For the first time, Desert AIDS Project CEO David Brinkman speaks publicly about his very personal struggle with COVID-19

By Daniel Vaillancourt

Making good on its mission to provide holistic healthcare to every resident of the Coachella Valley, regardless of serostatus or ability to pay, Desert AIDS Project unveiled its new COVID-19 Triage Clinic on Monday, March 16. This, by the by, despite the fact that the pandemic will ultimately have a negative economic impact of some $2.5 million on DAP due to revenue lost from the cessation of routine visits and reduction of select services, the closure of all Revivals thrift stores, and the cancellation of annual fundraiser Dining Out For Life.

Among those so far tested for the novel coronavirus at DAP is the non-profit’s CEO, David Brinkman, whose result was positive. What follows is an edited transcript of our telephone conversation of Tuesday, April 7—nine days after his diagnosis. I was sequestered in my home office; he was quarantined in his.

(Full disclosure: For the last decade, I have scripted DAP’s annual benefit, February’s Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards. Following known exposure to multiple friends currently suffering from COVID-19, I, too was tested for the coronavirus at DAP. My result was negative.)

DAP CEO David Brinkman at the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards
David Brinkman at the February 2020 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Photo: Lani Garfield

Daniel Vaillancourt: First things first. How are you feeling?

David Brinkman: I’m fine. Each morning my energy increases a little bit over the day before. That’s the sign you’re on the mend, right? I’m much more concerned about DAP’s well-being.  

To my knowledge, you’re the first leader or public figure in the desert to come out about testing positive for the coronavirus. Why are you going on the record?

That’s probably the hardest question to answer. I initially thought I wouldn’t share this publicly. Our focus needs to be solely on supporting our healthcare workers on our front line, educating the community, and supporting its members. I first spoke to my physician husband, Will Grimm, then to my board chair and co-chair, Steve Kaufer and Patrick Jordan. It quickly became clear that by sharing my story, I could help our community and DAP win the war against this virus. So here I am, using this platform to educate, decrease fear, and inspire hope.

What led to your wanting to be tested?

Ever since the start of this crisis, all of us at DAP have been working a minimum of 12 hours a day. By Thursday, March 26, I couldn’t tell what was going on with my immune system, but I could tell it was being impacted. Was I manifesting symptoms of a cold because of exhaustion, or was it something else? On the morning of Friday, March 27, I called DAP’s COVID-19 hotline and was assessed over the phone. I didn’t want a test kit to be used on me unless it was absolutely necessary. After voicing my symptoms—especially my dry cough, the telltale sign of coronavirus infection—I was instructed to come in and be tested. I was administered nasopharyngeal and throat swabs, then told to quarantine. I headed straight back to my home office. DAP has been my focus every waking hour of the day since the pandemic began, so I had plenty of work to keep me busy.

No anxiety as you awaited the test result?

I was fortunate that by the time I was tested, the labs had caught up and increased productivity. I was told I’d have news within 48 hours to three days. Five days at the very worst. I got the call on the evening of Sunday, March 29—just a little more than 48 hours later. Honestly, from all the years of being tested for HIV and the memories of having to wait two weeks for those results back in the ’90s, this was nothing. So no, I wasn’t anxious at all. That said, in times of crisis, one of my roles at DAP is to be very visible, demonstrating a tone of leadership, certainty, calmness, and focus. I knew that if I tested positive, there was no way I could do that. It would change how I communicate with our employees.

Did you not have qualms about being tested at your place of employment?

That’s a legitimate question, but at DAP we’re so well-trained around issues of confidentiality and HIPAA laws to protect patient privacy. I knew the same standard would apply to me. Following my positive test result, per DAP’s policy, I notified our head of human resources. Had I been in close physical contact with another staff member while contagious, HR would have notified that person. But in my case, since we’d already been social distancing at work—or working remotely from home—for weeks, there was nobody to notify.

How did the disease progress post-diagnosis?

Interestingly, I never experienced fever. After I got my results back, the next phase of the virus was loss of taste and smell. Those symptoms lasted nine days. Just two days ago, I tasted sweetness again. Yesterday, I started to taste salt. By the middle of last week, the fatigue was getting more significant and problematic, because my average day—filled with phone calls, emails, and meetings via Zoom—is 12 hours long, at minimum. I’m someone who can usually function perfectly on two and a half to five hours of sleep a night. Since becoming sick, I’ve been sleeping nine hours a night solid, without opening an eye once, which I haven’t done since I was a teenager. Finally, there was a period where my lungs started to tighten. I never felt like I couldn’t breathe, but a week ago, each evening as the sun was setting, my breaths became belabored. It started low in my lungs and stayed there for five or six days. Thank goodness, last weekend it came to the top of my lungs and has started moving. Today, it’s loosened. I finally feel like I’m getting over it.

Being the leader of a healthcare organization providing services to the community during this pandemic, how has it been for you to access said services personally?

What comes to mind is not about my being tested and proving positive. It’s about reflecting upon all of us going through this pandemic together. I also reflect upon how our DAP founders were feeling when hundreds of thousands of young people were dying of AIDS in the early eighties. We all know that when fear grabs hold of you, it paralyzes you from finding creativity, power, and resourcefulness. This pandemic makes me think about our founders with a heightened level of respect, but also inquisitiveness about what moved them through their fear to a place that created the response Desert AIDS Project became. They were losing the loves of their lives, their very best friends. From talking to our surviving founders over the years—and seeing how quickly their eyes well up with tears—I know it was unconditional love for humanity that propelled them.

What would you like to leave our readers with?

I want to remind them that DAP has previously honored the great physicians Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx on our Steve Chase stage. Both of them said that DAP is a global model on how to respond to the AIDS crisis—our organization, in our small town. Given where these two experts are today—and what important roles they play in this current pandemic—I hope their great esteem of DAP and of our community encourages all of us to know that, together, we can prevent the spread of this pandemic here in the desert. We can prevent further loss of life. We have an amazing team of infectious disease specialists and heroic nurses providing stellar services. The uninsured are never turned away. That’s so special. We’re soon launching our first coronavirus-positive support group via Zoom. That’s so unique. Imagine the impact those first support groups for HIV-positive people had in 1983. We can show the world what a community of committed neighbors can do. Why? Because we’ve done it so successfully in the past.

Weekend Wrap Message – Saturday Ap …

by Dustin Gruber
DAP Logo Weekend Wrap

Weekend Wrap Message - Saturday, April 4, From David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO

This week began with National Doctors Day - a day that, after this pandemic, we may want to consider making a Federal Holiday to honor the health professionals around the world who have shown a commitment to saving lives during the COVID-19 crisis.

Ambassador Deborah L. Birx MD, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, and tireless champion in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the earliest days, said this about the importance of community response to the pandemic.

Weekend Wrap Message - Saturday, April 4, From David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO

This week began with National Doctors Day - a day that, after this pandemic, we may want to consider making a Federal Holiday to honor the health professionals around the world who have shown a commitment to saving lives during the COVID-19 crisis.

Ambassador Deborah L. Birx MD, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, and tireless champion in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the earliest days, said this about the importance of community response to the pandemic.

Weekend Wrap Message - Saturday, April 4, From David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO

This week began with National Doctors Day - a day that, after this pandemic, we may want to consider making a Federal Holiday to honor the health professionals around the world who have shown a commitment to saving lives during the COVID-19 crisis.

Ambassador Deborah L. Birx MD, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, and tireless champion in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the earliest days, said this about the importance of community response to the pandemic.

“It’s communities that will do this.  There’s no magic bullet.  There’s no magic vaccine or therapy. It’s just behaviors. Each of our behaviors translating into something that changes the course of this viral pandemic over the next 30 days." - Ambassador Deborah L. Birx

I truly believe the work we’re doing at DAP right now will be a case study for how to react in a public health crisis for decades to come. As a team, and an organization, DAP is showing what is possible when we work together to change the course of this pandemic and help navigate our community through it.

The team at Desert AIDS Project has been adaptive in their approach and quick in their response to ensure continuous care for our patients and clients. 

  • Desert AIDS Project proudly launched MyChart Virtual Visit, a digital solution that ensures our patient's continuum of care from the comfort of their home. MyChart Virtual Visit is an easy and reliable way for them to meet with their clinicians. Click here to learn more about MyChart Virtual Visit. 
  • Our patients still have the option for an in-person meeting with their clinician in our Blue Clinic or Green Clinic on the DAP campus.  
  • MyChart Virtual Visit offers more choices to access the great care they've become accustomed to from DAP. It's one more way we deliver Patient-Centered Care to our community.
  • Testing and symptom treatment in DAP's COVID-19 Triage clinic continues daily. 

Desert AIDS Project in the News. 

DAP has been committed to providing essential health information and services to the Spanish speaking community of the Coachella Valley for 36 years.

DAP COVID-19 Triage Clinic clinician Nayeli Torres engaged Univision journalist Regina Yurita on precautions people need to take, especially in areas of the Coachella Valley where air quality is poorest and most of the population are Spanish speakers.

Launch of a Peer Fundraising Campaign

So we may continue our work, nearly 300 friends and neighbors have answered our emergency fundraising call with donations of medical supplies and financial gifts approaching $300,000. Still, we have $1,150,000 left to raise.

To ensure we reach this critical goal, we launched a Community Champions peer-to-peer fundraising effort.

We ask you to enlist you friends, neighbors, and family in this most urgent call. If you’ve not participated in online fundraising with DAP in the past, click here to visit our Peer-to-Peer fundraising platform. 

Please join us by registering with your Desert AIDS Walk credentials. If you are already in the system, simply fill out the form that will establish you as a DAP COVID-19 Community Champion. 

New Approaches to Sexual Wellness During COVID-19

DAP launched a Sex and COVID-19 information campaign starting a frank conversation about practical alternatives to hooking up in-person. Partnering with Trenton Ducati, we started by sharing a video message. Upcoming is a series of more videos, an Instagram live, and infographics that provide community education.

  • In less than two weeks, 6 new people were diagnosed with  HIV at The Dock. We are thankful they chose to get tested, and we are committed to providing them continuous and holistic care going forward.
  • Our work to end HIV and STIs continues, and our sexual health clinic The DOCK is still open the public on the DAP campus.

The Community Health team has been stepped up during this crisis to help keep the lifelines at DAP open. Team members are:

  • Providing clients extra telephone support to ensure concerns and needs for vital information are addressed.
  • Bolstering our Home Health team by providing home delivery services to our most vulnerable patient population.
  • Collaborating with the UCR Street Medicine Team to assemble and distribute much needed hygiene and safer sex kits to at-risk populations in shelters and in-the-field.

Talk Therapy For Clients

Increasing access to talk therapy support, DAP Behavioral Health has opened up virtual therapy services for all DAP clients. Dr. Jill Gover leads a team of compassionate and competent practitioners who are ready to help our community. Please click here to call 760-992-0450 to discuss pre-authorization, and schedule an intake appointment with one of our therapists.

Many of our support groups  continue via Zoom conferencing, and more are on the horizon. Next week, we will launch a COVID-19 Support Group via Zoom that will enable members of our community who test positive to exchange perspectives and information to make it through this time. For more information, call Cory Pulver at 760-992-0469 .

PPE Donations

DAP called for personal protective equipment (PPE) donations, and many in the community are answering. We continue to desperately need items such as unused medical gowns, gloves, goggles, masks, sewn cloth masks, and shoe covers. If you’d like to donate, please click here to contact Shelia Barnett via email or click here to call 760-818-5219.

Social Services

Our Social Services staff is making sure our clients can obtain and retain their Ryan White services by using the phone, e-mails, and fax, when shelter-in-place means they cannot come to DAP to fill out paperwork.

Assistance continues, including food, transportation, and housing programs for eligible clients, regardless of HIV status.

DAP and Trenton Ducati announce a new co …

by Dustin Gruber

DAP and Trenton Ducati announce a new collaborative for sexual stigma busting in the age of COVID-19.

Contact: Jack Bunting
[email protected]
(760) 323-2118 

Media Alert:

Who: DAP and Trenton Ducati

What: Teaming up to talk about sex in the age of COVID-19

Where: Online and radio

When: Throughout spring 2020

Why: Despite social distancing in the age of COVID-19, people are putting themselves and others at risk by seeking in-person hookups, using social media apps.

How:  Coming to the community in a series of live online events, ads and blog posts

Palm Springs, CA March 30, 2020 -- Desert AIDS Project (DAP) and Trenton Ducati announce a new collaborative for sexual stigma busting in the age of COVID-19.  Exploring new ways of sexual expression that adhere to social distancing, both will bring their expertise in their fields in an effort to keep sexual wellness on the minds and lips of anyone who might be at risk.

DAP has been fighting sexual stigma in the Coachella Valley for 36 years and will provide fact-based, sex-positive information through leaders like C.J. Tobe, Director of Community Health at DAP.

Trenton Ducati is a leading gay adult film star who’s also established himself as a producer and promoter. He owns adult brands like Ducati Studios, Gentlemen’s Closet, Nasty Daddy, and TrentonDucati.com. He will share insights from trends he sees in the adult entertainment industry.

“COVID-19 has changed the world, including our sex lives,” said C.J. Tobe, Director of Community Health at DAP. “We want our community to continue talking openly and honestly about sexual health in this new era.”

Desert AIDS Project offers judgement free HIV testing, PrEP/PEP services, and STI testing and treatment regardless how you practice social distancing.

“I’m ecstatic to work with DAP to get the message out,” said Trenton Ducati. “Let’s save our community by turning on some porn and staying home.”

Click here to download a copy of Sex & COVID-19 in English
Haga clic aquí para descargar una copia de Sexo y COVID-19 en Español

For a look at DAP’s kick-off piece A Guide to Sex during COVID-19 click here.

About Desert AIDS Project
Desert AIDS Project (DAP) is a Federally Qualified Health Center in Palm Springs, CA offering DAP Total Care – a combination of medical, dental, counseling, social services, support groups, alternative therapies, in-house pharmacy and lab, and other health and wellness services. DAP’s sexual health clinic, The DOCK, offers STI testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and HCV testing. DAP’s Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign, the nation’s first region-wide free HIV testing and access to care initiative, was recognized by the White House for helping to bring about an AIDS-free future. DAP has earned a “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator for the twelfth consecutive year – landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that we exceed industry standards in terms of our financial health, accountability, and transparency.

Visit www.desertaidsproject.org, www.thedockclinic.org, and www.gettestedcoachellavalley.org to learn more.

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This Weekend Wrap for March 28th feature …

by Dustin Gruber
DAP Logo Weekend Wrap

This Weekend Wrap for March 28th features updates from Desert AIDS Project’s Chief Executive Officer, David Brinkman

We are living in unprecedented times. It’s been two weeks since DAP opened its COVID-19 Triage clinic and put out the first call for community support to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In that time, we've seen over 90 patients in the urgent clinic, screening and treating each one, and testing only those who were sickest.

All week long, we've been sharing updates on our website, Facebook and Instagram pages but in case you missed it, here are some of our top stories.

Clinical & Programming Updates

  • DAP launched Tele-Health services for patients and clients who are not able to come to our campus for care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting Monday, patients can access their medical, psychotherapy, and psychiatry healthcare through their smartphones, iPads, or desktop computers.
  • DAP is still welcoming new clients during the COVID-19 health crisis. Services available include:

    • Primary Care

    • Specialty Care for HIV and Hep C

    • Behavioral Healthcare

    • Sexual Health at The DOCK

    • Social Services like case management, food assistance, transportation, housing and home care.

    • COVID-19 Triage Clinic

  • The DOCK, temporarily housed in DAP’s Green Clinic, continued to see patients who have questions about their sexual health, testing for STI's and HIV while our PrEP navigators continued to work with those who want access to the prevention technique.
  • DAP's Social Service and Community Health teams launched home delivery of essential supplies, including food for our most vulnerable home-bound clients ensuring they don't need to leave their home to go to the grocery store during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • DAP created a series of Spanish language videos and blog content to ensure everyone has access to the same life-saving information.
  • DAP's Client Wellness team launched a series of ZOOM meetings to connect clients in recovery to the groups that met at DAP before the COVID-19 pandemic.  Yoga sessions and guest speakers will roll-out next week.
  • DAP has had to re-adjust its operations in the wake of COVID-19. It has meant:

    • Making Telemedicine available to our clients through our MyChart client portal, which will enable them to continue in care if they are required to stay at home.

    • Suspending non-urgent dental appointments at our Dental Clinic, in accordance with the American Dental Association recommended guidelines.

    • Halting housecleaning, cooking and laundry for our Home Health clients, after the California Department of Public Health and other regulatory organizations issued strict guidelines protecting workers.

DAP in the News

Community Updates

Through email and phone calls, we’ve continued to share with you updates from the frontline of our clinical work, having tested our first positive cases and the stories from grateful patients. In response to all of these, nearly 300 of you have answered our call. THANK YOU!  We could not be more grateful. With $300,000 raised we have $1,150,000 left to raise.

Through these calls for your support, I have also received responses of concern asking, “why such a financial emergency?” And “How could a healthcare organization lay off staff in the middle of an emergency?”.

  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DAP was forced to close our three Revivals stores and our Dental Clinic foregoing the revenue from each.

  • We've had to cancel our Dining Out for Life fundraiser which raised $360,000, last year alone.

  • With many of our patients being in a high-risk group due to their age, our paid clinical visits and behavioral health clinic visits are down as well.

  • We responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by opening a Triage Clinic to screen, test, and treat respiratory illness.

  • Altogether, we anticipate revenue losses from now through June 30, 2020, of $2.5 million. Hence, we took swift action to stabilize the organization financially so that our core work of serving the 7,000 community members who call DAP their healthcare home remains uninterrupted during and after this crisis is over.

Be assured, our frontline clinical teams remain intact to provide daily care as well as COVID-19 triage services.

If you questions about COVID-19, please visit our COVID-19 FAQ's for information in both English and Spanish. If you believe you might be symptomatic or need information about testing, please call our COVID-19 hotline at (760) 992-0407.

David Brinkman
Chief Executive Officer

DAP Doubles Impact at COVID-19 Clinic wi …

by Dustin Gruber

Contact: Jack Bunting
(408) 323-2118
[email protected]

DAP Doubles Impact at COVID-19 Clinic with Treatment Plus Testing

Innovative approach creates model for other cities across U.S.

(Palm Springs, CA) March 20, 2020 -- DAP believes that offering treatment at the same site as screening and testing is essential to flatten the curve of any epidemic, and especially Coronavirus. With every visit to the COVID-19 Clinic at DAP, clients will be evaluated for multiple upper and lower respiratory diseases.

While screening and some testing for COVID-19 are starting to become more available throughout the Coachella Valley, the COVID-19 Clinic at DAP is the only clinic offering treatment for other respiratory illness that can present in a similar manner. The uninsured are never turned away.

DAP opened the COVID-19 Clinic to alleviate anticipated pressure on local emergency rooms and hospitals. As is the trend nationally, sick people needing emergency care for unchecked respiratory illness are expected to increase greatly in the Coachella Valley. Yesterday it was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the number of confirmed U.S. COVID-19 cases surpassed 10,000, doubling over two days.

 “It’s in the very DNA of Desert AIDS Project to respond quickly to public health crisis using science and medicine to create a humanitarian response,” said David Brinkman, CEO. “We are using our tested roadmaps from the HIV and HCV epidemics to respond to COVID-19." Helping people survive epidemics is in the Coachella Valley has been the core specialty of DAP for 35 years. With the largest infectious disease team of clinicians in this region of California, DAP offers modern medical care, anchored by a deep understanding of Coachella Valley epidemiology.

Although largely due to increased testing, the numbers send a clear message that to mitigate calamity due to COVID-19 in our valley, we must act now to test, treat and monitor those who are suffering.

By linking those who need it to care immediately, we are able to stop the spread of respiratory illness and alleviate suffering.

DAP’s approach to COVID-19 in our valley is:

  1. Educating the public via 760-992-0407, desertaidsproject.org and all social media channels,
  2. Testing those who are screened and found to be at risk,
  3. And treating mild-to-moderate symptomatic patients.

Treatment provided for upper and lower respiratory infections at DAP’s COVID-19 Clinic includes:

  • Oxygen Therapy for patients who have lower than normal levels
  • Nebulizer treatments to open airways and address shortness of breath
  • IV Fluids for dehydration
  • Fever control with medication
  • Community Acquired Pneumonia Treatment – Injection of antibiotics and ability to prescribe medications to our DAP Walgreens (overnight home delivery available)
  • Influenza A & B testing and treatment
  • Strep Throat testing and treatment

Useful Links

About Desert AIDS Project
Desert AIDS Project (DAP) is a Federally Qualified Health Center in Palm Springs, CA offering DAP Total Care – a combination of medical, dental, counseling, social services, support groups, alternative therapies, in-house pharmacy and lab, and other health and wellness services. DAP’s sexual health clinic, The DOCK, offers STD testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and HCV testing. DAP’s Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign, the nation’s first region-wide free HIV testing and access to care initiative, was recognized by the White House for helping to bring about an AIDS-free future. DAP has earned a “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator for the twelfth consecutive year – landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that we exceed industry standards in terms of our financial health, accountability, and transparency.

Visit www.desertaidsproject.org, www.thedockclinic.org, and www.gettestedcoachellavalley.org to learn more.

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Kristin Chenoweth to Headline Steve Chas …

by Dustin Gruber

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Steven Henke

[email protected]

(760) 656-8401

‘The Chase’ 2020 Honors Humanitarians Removing Roadblocks to Human Potential

PALM SPRINGS, CA- January 1, 2020 – Desert AIDS Project (DAP) has announced that Kristin Chenoweth will headline its 26th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards on February 8 where Hank Plante, Garry Kief and Ambassador Deborah L Birx, M.D. will be honored for their work in removing roadblocks to human potential.

Emmy and Tony Award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth’s career spans film, television, voiceover and stage. In 2015, Chenoweth received a coveted star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, she received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “Pushing Daisies”. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and she was also nominated for her original role of Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked” in 2004. Chenoweth has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and for a People’s Choice Award for her role on “Glee.”

Returning as co-chairs are Desert AIDS Project Board Members Kevin Bass, Patrick Jordan, and Lauri Kibby. Kibby recently shared the co-chairs vision. “This year’s Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards will focus on how Desert AIDS Project and the people who support the organization remove blocks to human potential,”she said. “The work we honor is deeply personal and about human well-being.”

Desert AIDS Project CEO, David Brinkman is expected to share DAP’s vision for the future during the event. “Desert AIDS Project’s story includes a long history of identifying and responding to epidemics,” he said. “We intend to pay forward what we’ve learned during our first 35 years by reaching more people and changing more lives. We have and continue to be a humanitarian organization which removes road-blocks to human potential.”

The last decade alone has seen DAP make substantial in-roads in addressing epidemics.

2010 2.7 million people worldwide were newly infected with HIV in 2010. DAP begins the decade focused on ending the epidemic.

2012 Annette Bloch donates $1 million to fund a cancer care center dedicated to specialized HIV-related cancer research, screenings, treatment and prevention.

2014 DAP launches Get Tested Coachella Valley as the nation’s first non-profit-led, region-wide HIV testing, prevention, education and linkage to care initiative.

2015 DAP launches The DOCK, a walk-in clinic that provides HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing, linkage to care and access to HIV preventative medication Pre-Exposure Prohylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).

2016 The DAP Hepatitis Center of Excellence opens to deliver comprehensive state-of-the-art expertise to manage, support and cure those afflicted with Hepatitis C.

2017 DAP opens Transgender Health Program offering gender-affirming services and care.

2018 DAP kicks off Vision 2020, a capital campaign which will result in the agency more than doubling its ability to provide patient-centered primary, HIV Specialty, Dental and Behavioral Health care to our community.

2019 Desert AIDS Project Celebrates 35 Years of Caring for our community.

How Desert AIDS Project Removes Roadblocks to Human Potential:

  • Medical Care- 7,000 clients call DAP their patient centered medical home, and about half do not have HIV. In the earliest days of the AIDS crisis, DAP discovered health outcomes for our HIV positive clients increased when we provided health care to their life partners and family members who were acting as caregivers. Today, DAP offers leading HIV specialty care as well as primary care for our community members not living with HIV. Because there is enough love in this valley to help everyone thrive and also prevent new cases of HIV.
  • Transgender Care- DAP is guiding more and more transgender, intersex, and gender diverse clients on their gender journeys. In a little over a year, DAP has seen its client enrollment quadruple for these services. Too many transgender individuals in the Inland Empire assume they won’t ever access stigma-free and competent care. At DAP they never have to worry.
  • Hepatitis Center of Excellence- 202 clients have been cured of Hepatitis C since 2017. DAP averages 9 weeks to cure clients, and never turns people away if they do not have insurance. HCV is a silent killer, but DAP’s advocacy is a lot louder.
  • Dental Care- Dental access is vital for good health, especially for people living with HIV. DAP’s dental clinic had 5,354 visits last year, and continues to add clients. A healthy mouth helps clients stay ahead of HIV, and everyone smile wider.
  • The DOCK-- $25 STI screening and treatment. Free Confidential HIV and HCV testing. PrEP and PEP navigators to onboard new clients and help access cost assistance. Because we won’t stop the spread of HIV and STIs in the Coachella Valley if we don’t make testing and treatment available to everyone.
  • Behavioral HealthCare—Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Psychotherapists. Coping with HIV and life can be overwhelming. DAP Behavioral Health clinicians help clients find hope. Because with the right support, we can get through almost any storm.
  • Social Services –Case managers make accessing healthcare and support services a reality for DAP clients. Transportation, food, housing, and enrolling for federal, state and local resources to cover care. In a complex healthcare system, DAP takes the worry out of obtaining and keeping care. 
  • Housing - DAP helps clients into permanent residences, and is developing more opportunities. Housing assistance is part of our prescription. Because access to medication is not enough to treat HIV—it also requires a place to live.
  • Back to Work—DAP’s back to work program has assisted over 200 clients re-enter the workforce when they were ready. This includes computer access, resume coaching, and job placement. DAP helps clients determine readiness for employment, and supports them throughout the process. Because having a job can be powerful medicine.
  • Client Wellness—A range of services, classes and support groups make DAP a community hub. Chair massage, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture and reiki. Because the AIDS crisis taught us that holistic health works. Strength training, art, sculpting and sewing classes. Because curiosity is healthy. Aging with HIV, addiction and recovery advocacy, and many other support groups. Because DAP understands that when a few people get together to support each other, an entire humanitarian movement can be born.

2020 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Honorees:

Hank Plante will receive the Arts & Activism Award, Garry Kief will receive the Partners for Life Award and Ambassador Deborah L Birx, M.D. will receive the Science & Medicine Award.  

Henry A. "Hank" Plante is an American television reporter and newspaper columnist. He is on-air at NBC Palm Springs and he is a member of the Editorial Board of Gannett's Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs. Winner of the George Foster Peabody Award and multiple Emmys, he covered California for three decades for TV stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He now writes occasional columns for newspapers in California, usually focusing on politics or gay and lesbian issues. One of the first openly gay TV reporters in the United States, Plante is the recipient of various honors from LGBTQ rights advocacy organizations and trade groups. In addition, Plante was featured in the documentary "5B" 5B (film), which was honored at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The film is about the first AIDS ward in the nation, which Plante covered as a reporter. A native of Detroit, Plante worked in both radio and television journalism, including 25 years at KPIX-TV (CBS 5) in San Francisco, before retiring in April 2010. Before that, he worked in print journalism, including at The Washington Post. At KPIX-TV, he interviewed a range of national and state political figures, including five U.S. Presidents and numerous Governors, legislators and opinion makers from Richard Nixon to Al Gore, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown and Hillary Clinton.

His experience includes reporting and anchoring at TV stations in various cities, including KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, KRIV in Houston, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis and WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia. He also served as Assignment Editor at WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., and as News Editor at WRC (NBC) Radio in Washington D.C. He began his career as a journalist in Washington, D.C. at the Sentinel Newspapers, where he was managing editor, and at The Washington Post, where he worked on the city desk.  His awards have included several local and national Emmys, as well as the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, in 1986, as part of CBS 5's "AIDS Lifeline" reporting team. He has also been awarded the Pioneer Award at the GLAAD Media Awards, and the James R. Harrison Award from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He was also named "Reporter of the Year" by the Associated Press (APTRA'S "Chris Harris Award"). Hank was inducted into the Emmy Silver Circle by the National Television Academy, which honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to broadcasting. In addition, his work has been singled out for praise by The New York.

Garry Kief is a former DAP Board Member and currently serves on the boards of the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, Palm Springs International Film Festival, McCallum Theatre, and the Annenberg Theatre Counsel. In addition, Kief has served as National President and Chairman of the Trustees of his national fraternity – Sigma Phi Epsilon, raising money for programs and scholarships to support undergraduate men. Kief is President/CEO at Stiletto Entertainment Group and President of Barry Manilow Productions. He has produced ‘A Gift of Love’ for four years raising millions of dollars for local charities. Kief also oversees the Manilow Music Project which empowers underfunded school music programs to provide quality music education. By donating instruments and equipment and providing scholarships nationwide, it gives disadvantaged young people the opportunity to experience community, passion, and creativity through the gift of music.

Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah L. Birx, M.D., is the Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. Ambassador Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and leader in the field of HIV/AIDS. Her three-decade-long career has focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. As the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Birx oversees the implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history, as well as all U.S. Government engagement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Serving as the U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, she aligns the U.S. Government’s diplomacy with foreign assistance programs that address global health challenges and accelerate progress toward: achieving an AIDS-free generation; ending preventable child and maternal deaths; and preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats.

In 1985, Ambassador Birx began her career with the Department of Defense (DoD) as a military-trained clinician in immunology, focusing on HIV/AIDS vaccine research. From 1985-1989, she served as an Assistant Chief of the Hospital Immunology Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Through her professionalism and leadership in the field, she progressed to serve as the Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research from 1996-2005. Ambassador Birx helped lead one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in history (known as RV 144 or the Thai trial), which provided the first supporting evidence of any vaccine’s potential effectiveness in preventing HIV infection. During this time, she also rose to the rank of Colonel, bringing together the Navy, Army, and Air Force in a new model of cooperation – increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. Military’s HIV/AIDS efforts through inter- and intra-agency collaboration. Then known as Colonel Birx, she was awarded two prestigious U.S. Meritorious Service Medals and the Legion of Merit Award for her groundbreaking research, leadership, and management skills during her tenure at DOD.

From 2005-2014, Ambassador Birx served successfully as the Director of CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA), which is part of the agency’s Center for Global Health. As DGHA Director, she utilized her leadership ability, superior technical skills, and infectious passion to achieve tremendous public health impact. She successfully led the implementation of CDC’s PEPFAR programs around the world and managed an annual budget of more than $1.5 billion. Ambassador Birx was responsible for all of the agency’s global HIV/AIDS activities, including providing oversight to more than 400 staff at headquarters, over 1,500 staff in the field, and more than 45 country and regional offices in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, and Latin America. Recognized for her distinguished and dedicated commitment to building local capacity and strengthening quality laboratory health services and systems in Africa, in 2011, Ambassador Birx received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine. In 2014, CDC honored her leadership in advancing the agency’s HIV/AIDS response with the highly prestigious William C. Watson, Jr. Medal of Excellence.

Headline performer, Kristin Chenoweth is a passionate supporter of charities that dedicate their time and efforts to helping those in need. She formed a charity partnership with the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center (BAPAC) Foundation in her home state of Oklahoma. Chenoweth's accomplishments were honored by her hometown with BAPAC naming "The Kristin Chenoweth Theatre" in 2012. Partnering with the BAPAC in a labor of love, Kristin launched an annual Broadway Bootcamp in 2015, providing young Broadway hopefuls with the opportunity to take classes, hold performances and learn from top mentors in the entertainment industry including Kristin herself. In her lifelong mission to cultivate arts education across the globe, Chenoweth has also created “Places! The Kristin Chenoweth Tour Experience," a unique educational program for young singers that puts them right next to her performing on stage. Each concert in Chenoweth’s ongoing tour will feature local participants from higher education conservatories, universities, and colleges for the immersive educational experience.

Chenoweth recently released her latest album “For The Girls,” debuting at #3 on the Current Pop Albums chart and #11 on the Billboard Top Albums chart. The album is a heartfelt tribute to the great female singers throughout history, particularly some of Kristin’s heroes and friends. Guest artists include Ariana Grande, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson and Reba McEntire. The album includes Chenoweth’s personally charged interpretations of classic songs identified with such iconic artists as Barbra Streisand, Lesley Gore, Linda Ronstadt, Dinah Washington, Dolly Parton and more.

2020 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Sponsors

PRODUCING: Harold Matzner, Walgreens

MAJOR: Elgart Aster & Paul Swerdlove, Desert Care Network, Desert Sun, Eisenhower Health, Grace Helen Spearman Foundation, Living Out, LULU California Bistro

STAR: Mark Adams, Steven Anders/The Elizabeth Firth Wade Endowment, Annette Bloch, Desert Oasis Healthcare, NBC Palm Springs, Saks Fifth Avenue

SUPPORTING: Blackbook, Jim Burba & Bob Hayes, Diageo, Lynn Hammond, Lauri & Charles Kibby, Neil Lane Jewelers, Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel, UC Riverside School of Medicine, Wells Fargo Foundation

BENEFACTOR: Anthem Blue Cross, Carolyn & Daniel Caldwell, Colleen Crowley & Jack Martin, Coachella Valley Health Personnel, Diageo, Freehold Communities, Gilead Sciences, Annette Guzman, Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Image360, Patrick Jordan, Kaiser Permanente Foundation, Frank Kurland, Laboratory Corporation of America, Perry McKay, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, Revive Wellness, Ann Sheffer & Bill Scheffler, Sysco Riverside, White Cross Pharmacy

MEDIA: CV Independent, Gay Desert Guide, LOCALE Magazine, Palm Springs Life, PromoHomo.TV, Rage Monthly, The Hollywood Times, The Standard Magazine

About Desert AIDS Project

Desert AIDS Project (DAP) is a Federally Qualified Health Center in Palm Springs, CA offering DAP Total Care – a combination of medical, dental, counseling, social services, support groups, alternative therapies, in-house pharmacy and lab, and other health and wellness services.  DAP’s sexual health clinic, The DOCK, offers STI testing and treatment, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), and Free HIV and HCV testing. DAP’s Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign, the nation’s first region-wide free HIV testing and access to care initiative, was recognized by the White House for helping to bring about an AIDS-free future.  DAP has earned a “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator for the sixth consecutive year – landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that we exceed industry standards in terms of our financial health, accountability, and transparency. Visit www.desertaidsproject.org, www.thedockclinic.org, and www.gettestedcoachellavalley.org to learn more.

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