Organization: The AIDS Institute Inc
Mission: The mission of The AIDS Institute is to promote action for social change through public policy, research, advocacy, and education.
Activities: The AIDS Institute's (TAI) began as a grassroots community mobilization and advocacy effort in Florida in 1985. In 1992, this advocacy network became incorporated as a Florida 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Its mission is to promote action for social change through public policy, research, advocacy, and education. As TAI evolved over the years into a highly respected non-partisan national organization, it maintains its roots in Florida as the only statewide policy and planning organization dedicated to HIV/AIDS. Since 2003, TAI has expanded its vision and scope to include policy offices in Washington, DC, and Tallahassee, Florida. TAI's administrative, program, and research office is located in Tampa. The Tampa office is situated at the University of South Florida, College of Medicine. The breadth of TAI's programs includes: federal policy research, analysis, and advocacy; capacity building and technical assistance; public health research and analysis; education and training; HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis community planning and public health research; Florida statewide policy and advocacy programs; customized convening and communications. Some TAI specific programs include the Center for Patient Advocacy Leaders; AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth, and Families; Aging; Women Informing Now (WIN)Programs, Florida Consortium for HIV/AIDS Research (FCHAR), and Florida HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network (FHAAN), National HIV and Aging Awareness, I am Essential Campaign, Ryan White Action, HepInfoNow!, among others. This expanded vision and scope of TAI effectively address the many aspects of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other chronic diseases- related issues. TAI's state and federal policy for HIV, viral hepatitis, STD's and health care access is the core of its portfolio. TAI uses the social determinants of health to help guide other issues they work on as it relates to barriers and access to prevention, care, and treatment. Through their work with the state officials, the administration, executive agencies, congress, media, and national/community partners, they impact social change through improved policies, legislation, and resource allocation. These activities often impact the entire country. While the focus of TAI's mission is HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis, their goal is to prevent new infections for all those at risk, which are often at risk for other STI's.
The AIDS Institute (TAI) has been managing the Florida Comprehensive Planning Network (FCPN) since 2000. TAI works with the Florida Department of Health and community members to lead, coordinate, and support meetings and all related logistics for the statewide advisory body. HIV community planning is an ongoing comprehensive planning process intended to help ensure that resources, particularly federal HIV prevention and care resources, target populations living with or at risk for HIV infections. The FCPN is a statewide planning body that works to advise the Florida Department of Health to develop comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and patient care plan. The FCPN consists of nominated and appointed leaders from around the state with expertise in HIV and disease prevention, care, treatment and support services. People living with HIV are also represented in critical leadership roles. TAI is also a member and supports the Florida Viral Hepatitis Council, the statewide advisory body of FLDOH. Each body and committee advises the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis Programs on matters related to HIV prevention, patient care, and hepatitis.
The AIDS Institute's (TAI) education programs are expansive in scope and impact. TAI's convening team supports meeting planning, coordination, and logistics for over 100 meetings throughout the year. Many of the meetings and groups support the Florida Department of Health, such as the Florida Comprehensive Planning Network and the Consumer Advisory Group (CAG)/ Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) meeting. As part of our education work, TAI planned and hosted the 7th Annual Rural HIV Research and Training Conference in Savannah, GA. It was a two-day forum for exchanging the latest information and learning the newest tools to address the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in rural communities. Another component of TAI's education and advocacy programs is the Patient Advocacy Leaders (PALS) Initiative and Center for Patient Advocacy Leaders (CPALs). PALS has been a trusted, and respected series of patient advocacy meetings considered been a best-in-class for almost 20 years. It was designed to connect diverse health advocacy leaders to improve their advocacy capacity and identify ways to collaborate and unify the voices of many. In 2019, the Center (CPALs) was launched upon fundamental principals, practices, and values of PALS; the staff has been better able to harness and more broadly utilize the resources , learnings, and the collective advocacy actions of health leaders and their grassroots organizations from all across the country. This has ultimately led to amplifying the patient voice loud and making advocacy efforts more effective. The Advocate Advisor network (an expansion of our former PALS Advisory Board) is crucial to enabling our well-established advocate-centered model, "By Advocates, For Advocates", which focuses on the needs of patients and caregivers, health advocacy leaders, their organizations, and the diverse communities they serve. In addition to the establishment of CPALs and the expansion of the pool of advisors, TAI also recently introduced a new project called Patient Advocacy Leaders United (PALs United). PALs United programs are designed to focus within a single therapeutic area or population's issues, with a better chance for identifying and pursuing meaningful action. TAI's capacity building and technical assistance, patient advocacy training and support, women and children programs, faith initiatives, public policy and health policy analysis, community and provider education, training and skills building, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis community planning, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis research, communications, convening, conference planning and meeting coordination, and a highly acclaimed intern and fellowship program are just some of the successful programs. This expanded vision and scope of TAI, effectively addresses the many aspects of HIV/AIDS and other chronic disease-related issues. Part of TAI's work included the planning, coordination, and facilitation of all-digital, webinars, virtual meetings, and of course, small and large scale face-to-face meetings and conferences.
NTEE category: Voluntary Health Associations & Medical Disciplines
Secondary category: Health Care