The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded $441,625 to Care Resource Community Health Centers, Inc. to implement high-impact HIV prevention programs in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

There were 1,805 HIV cases reported in just these two counties in 2019—making up 39.4 percent of all cases in Florida.

HIV is an ongoing global epidemic. In 2020 there were 37.7 million people around the world living with HIV, 1.5 million people became newly infected and 680,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.

However, since the peak of the HIV epidemic in 1997, new HIV infections have been reduced by 52 percent. AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 64 percent since their peak in 2004.

This grant to Care Resources comes during the first year of funding for the CDC’s five-year initiative and, according Care Resources, builds upon the health centers’ longstanding and comprehensive HIV prevention program.

Care Resource is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with four locations located in Midtown Miami, Little Havana, Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. It provides healthcare and support services to medically underserved populations of South Florida and offers comprehensive health and support services to pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients.

For over 30 years, Care Resource has cared for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, and provides specialty outreach, treatment, prevention, and medical care to South Florida.

“We are grateful for this grant from the CDC, which will help us continue to expand our HIV services to reach at-risk individuals who might otherwise be lost to care. We continue to innovate how we address the ongoing HIV epidemic. Over the past year we added at-home HIV testing and telehealth to ensure our patients continue to receive the care they need during a time when many community nonprofits have had to close or significantly reduce their HIV programming,” said Rick Siclari, MBA, CEO, Care Resource.