Desert AIDS Project: Hope Begins With Health

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How Health Equity Found Focus During COVID

Offering healthcare that serves each member of the community, including people with HIV (PWH) in the Coachella Valley, means addressing issues that keep people from accessing care. Health experts continue to urge everyone to build physical resiliency during this pandemic, and DAP aims to reach people who do not have access to care and services.

“At DAP, we have learned over 37 years that hope begins with health,” says David Brinkman, CEO. “Whether it’s receiving competent medical care for the first time or making it through depression and anxiety because of an excellent psychotherapist, hope and healing become synergistic when we people receive the care they need.”

Currently DAP patients’ well-being is advocated for with two programs created to cut through insurance bureaucracy in the name of public health.

With One Call, DAP offers extra help getting people health coverage through Covered California, and with its Advocacy program, DAP is providing persuasive representation to influence state level policy to benefit DAP patients in the future.

Throughout this health crisis, DAP is adding new patients, providing uninterrupted medical and mental healthcare, a COVID Clinic, and an array of wraparound services. All are designed to serve patients based on their individual needs for health.

Residents Want Ongoing Medical Care

Keeping up with health maintenance can get lost in the details of life during COVID, but people are beginning to take finding a physician more seriously, especially if they have recently lost access to healthcare.

“We are rapidly bringing more people into care because they have recently lost their health insurance,” says David Brinkman, CEO. “On average, two-to-three people per day are signing up for primary care after visiting for walk-in services.”

According to Dr. Tulika Singh, associate chief medical officer, this is a welcome sign. She has noticed since the pandemic began that patients are neglecting important areas of healthcare, like STI screenings, routine checkups and lab work, and counseling for anxiety and depression.

“It’s crucial to take care of yourself right now.”

But for people who recently lost their coverage, or for those who simply haven’t had medical care in a long time, it might not be that easy.

Although Covered California provides access for individual health coverage despite income level, enrollment can be lengthy, and it can require enough back-and-forth to cause interruptions in medical coverage and patient care.

One Call is a DAP service for anyone needing help to obtain insurance or Medi-Cal through Covered California. According to C.J. Tobe, director of Community Health, callers are getting coverage in about one-third of the time it usually takes, and his team offers callers even more.

“We also register them for medical and behavioral healthcare and schedule their first appointment at DAP — all in approximately 45 minutes,” he says. “This is a significant reduction in the amount of time this would normally take, thanks to a DAP Healthcare Navigator who will work one-on-one with each caller.”

Callers can access One Call service by calling 760-992-0426, Monday – Friday, 9am – 4pm PDT.

Neediest Patients are Covered with Advocacy

Offering more access to healthcare in the Coachella Valley has always required DAP speaking up for the needs of the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV (PWH), many of whom also live in poverty.

DAP Health has been active in efforts to decriminalize HIV, to secure access to telemedicine for patients, and funding programs for this Valley’s most vulnerable populations.

Vigilance has meant a lot of traveling to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., for Carl Baker, DAP director of legal and legislative affairs.

Carl’s readiness is coming in handy as DAP Health is advocating for keeping telemedicine visits billable through insurance providers after the COVID state of emergency is lifted. According to him, using videoconferencing and telephone calls in this health crisis has made it easier for patients and doctors to connect, and DAP would like to continue using these tools.

“Patients like it, and it decreases the number of no-shows,” he says. “It is low cost, and you don't have to worry about transportation, especially in the dead of summer here, when it's too hot.”

Carl is quick to point out that due to COVID, advocacy efforts with state and national policymakers are happening via teleconference and Zoom until after the health crisis.

He remembers speaking in front of a state assembly in Sacramento to decriminalize HIV in California, which was achieved in 2017.

“I had to explain that being HIV positive is not a crime and that the laws should change,” he says. “That’s what an advocate does.”

By working for DAP, he seeks to improve public health in the Coachella Valley for everyone, HIV positive or not.

“We have a whole host of bills and propositions that we’ll enjoy working on in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.” he says. “We look out for things that would help the healthcare of all of our patients.”