HHS grants $45.7 million in Ryan White funds

Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson last week announced 61 Ryan White grants totaling $45.7 million to help provide primary care and outpatient services to HIV-positive people and their families. The grants include $22.6 million to provide comprehensive care for HIV-positive women, infants, children, and their families; $21.4 million in supplemental funds for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs in 14 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico; $1.4 million to help organizations improve HIV care systems; and six grants to groups to help launch primary care services. "Today's awards cover a range of activities within America's health care safety net for people living with HIV/AIDS, from planning for services to providing comprehensive care and medications," said Elizabeth Duke, director of the Health Resources and Services Administration, which directly awarded the grants. "These funds provide critical support to the organizations caring for, or planning to care for, some of our most vulnerable populations afflicted with AIDS."