AUSTIN, Texas — AIDS Services of Austin wants to cut down the time it takes for newly diagnosed HIV patients to get medical care, by building something new. 

“We estimated about 5,700-plus living with HIV in the community, but 18 percent don’t know their status, so that means we’re probably seeing 7,000 people living in the community who are living with HIV,” said Paul Scott, CEO of AIDS Services of Austin. “As we work to expand testing and identify people who are positive, we need to be able to link them into medical care faster so they have more successful health outcomes.”

According to 2017 report by Austin Public Health, the number of people living with HIV in Travis County increased almost 19 percent between 2010 and 2015, in part because of population growth and continued transmission. AIDS Services of Austin is now building a new patient-centered medical home in northeast Austin. Construction is made possible through donations and a $1 million grant from the Moody Foundation.  

“When someone comes through our doors, no matter what door they’re entering, whether it’s the medical door, the food bank door, or the dental door, they’re going to be treated in such a way that we treat the whole person and not just their symptoms,” Scott said. “I think that’s what’s critically important to achieving not only success, but trust.”

Patients living with HIV or AIDs and those seeking preventative medication will have access to different medical and social services all in a single, dedicated facility. Those services include access to HIV and primary care, PreP, dental care, the food bank, mental health services and housing assistance, among other benefits. Organizers said they will provide an environment free from stigma. 

“It’s much more centered on the patient. The things that’ll take place here is what is the most appropriate for the patient to be cared for, not what’s easiest for the providers,” said Dr. David Wright, a family medicine physician who will become the nonprofit’s medical director. “That is an opportunity for (patients) to come into a place where they are really welcomed and the feeling will be is that this is place that’s safe.” 

Wright said there is also a need for specialized care, because the people living with HIV are aging. 

"They’ve accumulated other illnesses along the way. They’ve may be dealing with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease - all of these things are very, very common occurrences in people the longer that they live with HIV infection, so all of those things can be managed here," he said. 

The goal is to eventually link new patients to appointments within 72 hours, as opposed to 30 days. Ultimately, they want to make sure people are not just surviving but are thriving. 

“If you can do those things - control the infection, find those are infected and don’t know it and then prevent that - then we have an opportunity to bring new cases down to zero,” Wright said. 

AIDS Services of Austin plans to open the facility later this spring.