New England AETC Program changes HIV care by offering education and capacity-building assistance to healthcare teams. The AIDS Education and Training Centers are a national network of leading HIV experts who provide locally tailored education, clinical consultation, and technical assistance to healthcare professionals and organizations to integrate cutting-edge, comprehensive care for those living with or affected by HIV. The network has two national centers, eight regional centers, and over 85 regional-partner (local) locations. Healthcare professionals educated by New England AETCs gain confidence and skill in dealing with HIV-related difficulties, and they are more likely to treat people living with HIV than other primary care physicians. AETCs direct training and capacity-building efforts toward doctors who care for people of color who work in community health centers and IHS health centers, allowing people living with HIV to have easier access to excellent HIV care in their communities. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program’s training arm is the AIDS Education and Training Center Program. The AETC Program is a nationwide network of top HIV specialists that give locally customized education, clinical advice, and support to healthcare professionals and organizations to integrate high-quality, comprehensive care for people living with or affected by HIV.

Our Process Makes Us Different  

AETC training is intended for clinicians that assist disadvantaged and resource-poor groups with high HIV prevalence, such as the homeless, imprisoned, adolescent/young adult, transgender, gay/bisexual males, drug users, and immigrant/migrant people living in the United States. We train a wide range of clinicians, including physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, nurses, oral health professionals, and pharmacists, as well as other multidisciplinary HIV care team members who work in STD clinics, hospitals, community-based organizations, health departments, mental health and addiction treatment facilities, and other healthcare facilities. Training activities are provided in-person, online, and through distance-based platforms based on assessing local needs. An interactive training approach is stressed to assist clinicians with complicated HIV care and treatment management challenges. Ryan White grantees, health education centers, community-based HIV/AIDS groups, and medical and health professional organizations work with AETCs. Every year, the AETC Program teaches about 83,000 clinical personnel.

Consultation, Capacity Building, and Technical Assistance

  • AETC program at the regional, municipal, and national levels include case-based and organizational education, training, advising, and technical support.
  • Regional centers and their collaborating (local) sites operate directly within the community by providing focused training and connecting providers with local expertise.
  • National centers offer resources, help, and training to healthcare professionals and faculty throughout the AETC network and beyond.
    • The National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) operates a Warmline for individual clinician case consultations, a PEPline for post-exposure prophylaxis consultations, a PrEPline for pre-exposure prophylaxis consultations, and a Perinatal Hotline for questions about HIV-infected pregnant women’s care.
    • As well as HIV test indications and interpretations, a Hepatitis C Care line for consultations on hepatitis C mono-infection treatment, and a Substance Use Management line for physicians seeking guidance on substance use management.
    • The AETC National Coordinating Resource Center provides a virtual library of online training resources for HIV care providers and other healthcare professionals to adapt to meet local training needs and organizes an annual in-person conference for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program prescribing clinicians.
    • In addition, it provides technical help, marketing services, and capacity-building aid to the AETC network and associated healthcare professionals.

The AETC Program contributed to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) aims by expanding the number of healthcare teams trained and motivated to care for people living with HIV and improving access to care, therefore lowering HIV-related health inequalities.

Reducing New HIV Infections

AETCs teach care professionals about the significance of primary and secondary prevention and in-depth prevention with positivity programs, which provides a holistic strategy to avoid new HIV infections. In addition, AETCs help expands HIV testing capacity and gives training; several AETCs have assisted in developing new HIV testing programs in community clinics and non-traditional care settings.

Reducing Effort Duplication

Over two years or more decades of providing HIV education to healthcare practitioners, the AETC Network has gained considerable knowledge in developing partnerships and community networks. This level of detail guarantees constant communication and cuts down on duplication of efforts within the HIV education, care, and services community.