Guiding Right has been awarded a $2.2 million Ryan White Ending the HIV Epidemic contract.
The contract was awarded by the Oklahoma Department of Health as part of its Health Resources & services Administration.
The funding will be to provide ambulatory medical care to Black and Hispanic individuals with the disease living in the western Oklahoma service area.
As of Dec. 2020, data reports say there were approximately 6,789 Oklahomans living with HIV/AIDS, according to Theodore Noel, president and chief executive officer of Guiding Right.
The Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical area accounted for the majority of the state’s diagnosed cases of the disease in 2020, he pointed out.
That year, he said, Blacks accounted for 7 percent state’s population, but represented 24 percent of new diagnoses of the disease, the agency’s president stated.
“So that, Blacks and Latinos continue to experience the greatest need for the services Guiding Right provides, “Mr.Noel commented.
“This funding comes at a critical time in this epidemic and we are committed to making a difference.”
“Guiding Right and its clinical arm, the New Hope Wellness Center, are grateful to receive this funding that will be dispensed over the next five years,” Mr. Noel stated.
“The funds will be used to deliver culturally informed clinical services for Blacks and Latinos living with HIV in our community.”
