Welcome

The AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) National Resource Center (NRC) website has been designed to serve as a central resource for the education of providers of HIV/AIDS care nationwide. The AETC program is a national network of 14 regional centers that educate and train HIV/AIDS healthcare providers (physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants, and nurses) with Federal funding provided by the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act. The CARE Act, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), provides funding for primary care and supportive services for low-income, underinsured, and uninsured individuals.

The NRC has been established to support the AETCs, the National Minority AETC, the Targeted Provider Education Demonstration Program, the AETC Evaluation Center (data analysis program), and other similar, federally funded programs. The NRC supports the AETC mission by providing easy access to and widespread dissemination of the six Public Health Service/DHHS Guidelines for clinical management of HIV. In addition, the NRC will serve as a mechanism for review and evaluation of the wide variety of professional and patient education materials currently in use by the AETC Program. One goal of the NRC is to minimize the duplication of effort among and between regions, while also providing a ready source of training materials. In addition, the NRC offers the AETC program consultation services on selected issues and a broadcast e-mail system for fast communication of clinical updates and other news to all regional offices. One novel feature of this website is its "Ask the Expert" question and answer forum which provides the only widely available system by which care providers can ask questions of and provide feedback to members of the various DHHS guidelines panels. Questions and feedback will be delivered directly to panel members who will respond on line in a public forum.

The NRC, which is a newly formed organization, draws upon the expertise of three collaborating institutions: The Johns Hopkins University AIDS Service (JHAS), The CORE Center of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, and the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (NYSDOH/AI). JHAS, a long-established leader in HIV care, brings to this project expertise in print and electronic publications design, development, and administration. The CORE Center, which is affiliated with the Mid-West AETC, has great breadth and depth in patient care and will lead the effort to evaluate and endorse professional education materials. The NYSDOH/AI, one of the first and most comprehensive programs responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is charged with evaluating and endorsing patient education materials. The combined efforts of these three groups will allow the NRC to develop a comprehensive, easy to access, and up-to-date system of support for the broad-based AETC program.

The NRC's Steering Committee, composed of Regional AETC Directors and representatives of the National Minority AETC and HRSA, will provide guidance in identifying services that should be provided by the NRC as well as areas for future development and expansion. Requests to the NRC from HRSA and/or the Steering Committee will be considered mandates if they fall within the budget and the mission of the NRC as conceptualized by all participating agencies. All activities of the NRC are subject to review and approval by AETC leadership at HRSA.

The AETC National Resource Center is a program of the Health Resources and Services Administration supported by Grant H4A HA 00022-01.