The clinics at Men’s Health Foundation are at the core of our services designed to combat health inequity. Our providers are contracted through Southern California Men’s Medical Group (SoCal MMG), a private practice founded in 1998 in West Hollywood, and one of Southern California’s leading centers for HIV care and prevention. Equipped with decades of experience in specialized health care for men facing health inequities, SoCal MMG is a pioneer in providing excellent care, free of the HIV stigma, discrimination or cultural incompetence that many people living with HIV continue to face within our national healthcare system. This partnership allows Men’s Health Foundation to offer premium-quality medical care to underserved communities, including the underinsured and underinsured, at low or no cost to those patients.
In 2020, Men’s Health Foundation clinics expanded to South Los Angeles, opening facilities under the same roof as our community center, SoCal Club. Early in the year, our clinics in South LA and in West Hollywood became hubs for outdoor COVID testing, expanding our reach wider than ever before. Underserved communities across LA came into care with Men’s Health Foundation as our team tirelessly met the unprecedented demands for clinical services.
Before the year’s end, our clinics became one of the first sites in the nation to offer COVID-19 vaccines, announcing the service on December 24, 2020 - just 10 days after the first vaccine was administered in the United States.
As our services and patient populations continue to expand to battle the HIV epidemic, the COVID pandemic, and the underlying health inequities impacting both public health emergencies, the care team at our clinics continues to be ready at the front lines.
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Our CEO and Founder Dr. Tony Mills says, “We created the pharmacy because we wanted to create a similar model of other Health Systems, where the patient is provided comprehensive care because the pharmacy is within the same organization as the health care provider. The pharmacy staff can provide better service because they are tightly connected to the clinic.”
Our pharmacy is uniquely qualified to expertly address the specific needs and concerns of our patient population receiving treatment for HIV or seeking HIV prevention, with many pharmacy team members bringing decades of experience in pharmaceutical care for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Through our Patient Management Program, we can connect our patients living with HIV with services for co-pay assistance and coverage in employment gaps.
In 2020, we also received a three-year accreditation with the Utilization Regulation Accredation Commission (URAC), a national organization which awards certification to top-quality care providers nationwide.
The Men’s Health Foundation Pharmacy filled 48,143 prescriptions in 2020, with 9,656 PrEP prescriptions filled (20.1% of all prescriptions filled in the year). In 2020 alone, our pharmacy saved our patients $3,742,005.67 in copay dollars.
With more than 100 clinical trials completed to date, Mills Clinical Research managed a total of 20 active trials with approximately 560 participants in 2020 alone. As COVID-19 spread throughout the year, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) selected Mills Clinical Research as the only site in Los Angeles to take part in their global COVID-19 vaccine trial, with a special focus on communities with barriers to health care.
In October 2020, we completed construction on a new, state-of-the-art research facility at 8280 Santa Monica Boulevard, in the heart of West Hollywood. We also hired additional staff and expanded our research portfolio.
Out of the approximately 300 enrolling sites nationwide in the Johnson & Johnson Ensemble trial, our site was ranked #2 in total enrollment. In addition to this distinction, Mills Clinical Research excelled in terms of diversity numbers in the study, an exemplification of our commitment to serving marginalized communities and those at risk.
Approximately 20% of participants in our J&J study were aged 60 or older, with the oldest participant being 97 years old.
Mills Clinical Research has always focused on clinical trials impacting communities at risk for health inequity, beginning with a focus on people living with HIV/AIDS. Along with our work in 2020 on the global J&J COVID-19 vaccine trial, we also welcomed the FDA approval of Cabenuva, a long-acting, injectable treatment for HIV, with our research team and our CEO / Principal Investigator Dr. Tony Mills playing an integral role in getting the formulation to market.
With this treatment, patients will receive an injection once a month instead of taking pills daily, a major milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Rob Lester, Director of Care Services within our public programs, contextualizes the significance of this milestone toward the HIV/AIDS epidemic:
“Over the past several years, there has been an increasing emphasis on developing long-acting, injectable formulations for HIV treatment and PrEP. Injectables, including Cabenuva, are especially important for patients with difficulty taking daily oral medications, including many of those we care for who are homeless, using drugs or alcohol, living with mental illness, or otherwise experiencing instability in their lives. Since life instability is one of the main reasons for patients to seek programming services, I hope this new treatment option will help our patients stay engaged in care and virally suppressed.
These new injectables show just how much progress we’ve made in HIV treatments over the past 25 years. I remember when HIV treatments could mean taking a dozen or more pills each day, having doses every 4 or 6 hours. From there, we progressed to treatments that were twice per day, to one a day, to single tablet treatments. At each step, we’ve been able to reduce the treatment burden associated with HIV, and we’ve given new and more powerful tools to help arrest the impact of HIV on our fellow community members.”
Through its Public Programs, MHF offers affordable, comprehensive health and support services to uninsured and underinsured individuals in partnership with federal, state, and local governments and private foundations. Whether providing HIV and STD prevention services, treatment for HIV and STD diseases, medical care coordination, mental health, wellness sessions and/or linkages to other services needed to thrive, MHF strives to ensure access to quality care regardless of their insurance and income status. Our diverse team of public health professionals deliver high-quality, free or low-cost health and wellness services for at-risk residents of Los Angeles County. Our Public Programs include:
Through our Prevention Care Coordination (PCC) program, MHF offers PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) to prevent HIV infection. PrEP is a once-a-day oral prescription that reduces the risk of contracting HIV by up to 99%. PEP is a once-a-day oral prescription that can prevent HIV infection if taken within the first 72 hours of the risk of HIV exposure.
Our PCC team helps patients navigate access to PrEP and PEP every step of the way: from determining eligibility, to obtaining affordable access to the necessary medication, to ensuring that patients stay in care and stay healthy.
In 2020, about 1,656 individuals received PrEP/PEP from MHF, and 1,227 of those patients received assistance from our PCC team, including 392 underinsured and uninsured individuals - helping prevent 1,656 new HIV infections last year.
In 2020, over 1,400 young people participated in SoCal Club events and services.
This achievement was possible thanks to the financial support from and partnership with the California Department of Public Health (Contract ES # 1971); the County of Los Angeles Office of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs (Contract PH-003078-W1); and the City of West Hollywood.
Located in South Los Angeles, the SoCal Club is unique because it offers a safe space for gay, bisexual and transgender men and women of color up to age 29, who are the Angelenos most at risk for HIV and STDs, to pursue physical, emotional and spiritual healing and wellness, including fitness and nutrition/cooking classes in addition to physical and behavioral health services. Equally important, SoCal Club offers its members HIV and STD testing, access to PrEP/PEP, and HIV and STD treatment through our partners at Southern California Men’s Medical Group.
In 2020, over 1,400 young people participated in Club-sponsored events and services, including outreach (1,404); HIV and STD testing (853 and 841 respectively); mental health counseling (88) as well as many group discussion sessions and activities (MPowerment - 229, Popular Opinion Leader 21, fitness / wellness / arts / life-skills classes – 225). Through the adoption of social media and new digital technologies, the SoCal Club team helped over 1,400 young gay and bisexual men and transgender people of color, break through the isolation imposed by the COVID 19 pandemic and remain connected and engaged with vital prevention, wellness and support services.
The SoCal Club is possible primarily to the support and partnership offered by the County of Los Angeles Office of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs (Contract PH-003439); among others.
Launched in the Summer of 2020, our Rapid Results Express HIV and STD services offer fast STI + HIV testing for all, regardless of age or insurance status. Those testing positive for HIV or STIs are quickly linked to care and treatment services. Individuals testing negative are also offered and linked to other prevention services, including PrEP or PEP.
In 2020, Rapid Results conducted 2,155 HIV, 2,074 Chlamydia, 2,074 Gonorrhea, and 1,790 Syphilis tests, quickly linking anyone testing positive to care and treatment services.
By innovatively pairing HIV and STD testing with COVID 19 tests, MHF was able to help interrupt disease transmission by attracting eligible individuals and linking those testing possible to vital and timely treatment services and offering essential prevention information to all who tested.
MHF’s Rapid Results Express HIV and STD services are funded in part by a grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs (Contract PH 004158).
We’re deeply committed to providing HIV medical treatment for People Living with HIV (PLWH) regardless of their ability to pay. Our services for PLWH includes medical visits with providers and access to prescription medications for those who are uninsured or underinsured. In 2020, 29 uninsured individuals received HIV treatment through MHF/SoCal MMG, with the overwhelming majority retained in care and with undetectable viral loads regardless of their ability to pay.
Over the course of the HIV epidemic, we have learned that many individuals need additional assistance in order to maximize the benefits of medical treatment. This was particularly true during the course of 2020. MHF’s Medical Care Coordination (MCC) Team - comprised of nurses, social workers, case workers, and retention specialists, work to identify and work with patients in need of additional support though screenings, periodic assessments, care coordination, brief interventions, case management, and retention in care activities.
In 2020, our MCC team served approximately 200 eligible uninsured and underinsured patients, delivering about 4,500 hours of services. As a result of their tireless efforts, about 200 individuals living with HIV continued to engage in care and thrive.
MHF’s treatment and care services for uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV in Los Angeles County are primarily through grants from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV/STD Programs (Contracts PH-003757 and PH 003758, respectively) – as part of the Ryan White Care Program.
Getting to and from vital care and medical services have posed a great challenge to many individuals living with HIV, and this particularly true in a vast and congested metropolitan area like Los Angeles County. Thanks to a Ryan White-funded contract with the County’s Department of Public Health Division of HIV and STD Programs, MHF facilitated Medical Transportation for eligible patients by providing 161 TAP cards and 21 Lyft rides to eligible patients in 2020, providing solutions for the barriers many patients face from staying in care.
Fulfilling our mission of helping all patients lead healthier, happier lives would not be possible without a holistic health approach including mental health services. This was more critical than ever in 2020, when many of the communities we serve battled heightened anxiety, depression and isolation through COVID-19 lockdowns. Through our SoCal Club, we offered sessions from licensed therapists with the unique cultural competency to serve our patient populations, whether the therapy sessions welcomed individuals, couples, families or groups. Offered virtually for much of 2020 to comply with COVID safety precautions, these virtual sessions held the added benefit of accessibility for LBGTQ+ youth who may have limited at-home support or access to transportation. In 2020, we served 88 unique patients with our mental health services, with plans for expansion to our team of mental health providers and service locations in 2021.
Through its Benefits Assistance Program, MHF offers assistance for uninsured and underinsured patients to enroll with private and public health insurance coverage and other public benefits that will help them secure and maintain quality care and treatment. These programs include Medi-Cal, Medicare, Covered California, the California AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), and California’s PrEP-AP Program, among other public benefits. In 2020, we assisted 234 patients with enrollment and maintenance of public and private health plans, including many who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Our Benefits Assistance Program is supported in part by the California Department of Public Health (Contract ES# 1971).
In addition to the strong and generous funding and programmatic partnerships with the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs, and the City of West Hollywood, our Public Programs are also possible thanks to the generous support of the The Louis L. Borick Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and significant allocations from MHF’s own General Funds.