News

NEW! Options For Care:

Due to the current situation with COVID-19, we are now offering more options for our patients to receive their care:

• Telehealth (Over the phone)
  To help our patients continue to receive their medical care while social distancing, we have added the option of medical visits over the phone. If you are interested in participating for an upcoming visit, please reach out to your site directly.

• Video
  To help our patients continue to receive their medical care while social distancing, we have added the option of medical visits over video chat. If you are interested in participating for an upcoming visit, please reach out to your site directly.
  
• In-Person
  We will still be giving patients the option for their traditional in-person medical visits, but we have made some adjustments to our delivery of care model. Please see the changes to medical and dental visits below.

Resources:

Lancaster Co. Resources – English & Spanish

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“The CARES Act requires providers that order and/or provide testing to post the cash price of these services to their public website. The cost of receiving these services at Family First Health is as follows: 

1. CPT code 99000 (Handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the office to a laboratory)  the standard charge is $15.00
2. CPT code 99001 (Handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the patient in other than an office to a laboratory) the standard charge is $26.00. 

These charges are the standard prices for an uninsured patient above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.”

Nicole Durham, CRNP at Family First Health, has achieved the HIV Specialist credential through the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

Open to physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants working in direct clinical care, the AAHIVM HIV Specialist credential is the only one of its kind nationwide, creating a standard by which all HIV care providers should deliver quality HIV care. Attaining this credential is a way to remain current, demonstrate frontline experience, and evolve with changes in HIV technology, with discoveries of new treatments and shifts in the nation’s health care system. This credential confirms a provider’s commitment to maintaining continuing competence through ongoing learning, experience, and self-assessment.

Nicole joined Family First Health in 2013. She completed HIV training in September 2014 and started seeing patients in 2015. A nurse practitioner in the program, Durham currently cares for 100-110 individual patients, providing both HIV specific care and general primary care. She received her Bachelor’s in Nursing (BSN) in 2000 and her Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 2013, both from York College. In 2013 she received certification as a Board Certified Primary Care Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner. Completing clinical rotations with the REACCH program in Harrisburg prior to her tenure at Family First Health sparked her passion for HIV care.

Durham’s philosophy regarding her care of HIV patients is as follows: “As I listen to your life story, I pass no judgements about your lifestyle. Your life and your choices are yours to make. My job is to keep you as healthy and as educated as I can while you live your best life.”

Durham is the second provider at Family First Health to receive the HIV Specialist credential; Asceline Go, MD, Vice President of Medical Services, received this credential in 2018.

Through Family First Health’s Caring Together program, we offer a seamless system of coordinated, high-quality care for people who are HIV positive, so they can access the services they need. Interested individuals can call 717-846-6776 for more information.

Family First Health also offers free, confidential HIV testing and counseling for individuals ages 13 and older at our George Street Center, Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

On June 27^th Family First Health will celebrate HIV Testing Day by offering free, confidential HIV testing from 8:30 am-3:30 pm at our George Street Center in Downtown York. This is a collaborative effort between Family First Health, WellSpan Community Health Center and the York City Bureau of Health.

National HIV Testing Day is an annual campaign coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage people of all ages to get tested for HIV, know their status and get linked to care and treatment.

Family First Health collaborates with WellSpan Health to provide coordinated, high-quality care for people who are HIV positive. The Caring Together program helps patients easily access the services they need.

In honor of the upcoming HIV Testing Day, one of our patients generously agreed to share their story.

How long have you been HIV-positive?

Since 2009

Why did you decide to get care?

I was in denial for about one month, thought I had the flu or just a really bad cold. I started getting really back fevers, had a terrible rash on my tongue (what I learned later was thrush), and started passing out at work. One day I felt really sick so I decided to go to the emergency room to get checked out. The Dr in the ER told me I had the virus and that if I went home that night I would die. So my choices were to go home and die or stay at the hospital to be treated- I stayed at the hospital. I was inpatient for about one month. When I was discharged I came to FFH for my outpatient medical care. Staff at FFH helped me get insurance, pay for the expensive medications, and with other resources.

What’s your advice to others who have been recently diagnosed with HIV?

Look towards the future because of new medications, we can have a future. Take your medications daily, make sure you are involved with FFH Caring Together to get support and resources.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about living with HIV/AIDS?

A lot of people still think HIV/AIDS is a death sentence, it is not anymore. People need to be educated to know it is not taboo; it is not a death sentence. People with HIV/AIDS should not loose friends over family over the disease.

What do you think needs to happen to reduce the stigma around HIV/AIDS?

Clear idea of what treatment looks like, which is taking your medication every day. Also, showing the faces the HIV/AIDS- anyone can get it.

Why should people know their status?

So they can continue to live a healthy life. If sexually active, to not pass it to others and to be safe.

How can others show their support of people living with HIV/AIDS?

Just be supportive. Be there for us and give us hope to live.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

After I was diagnosed, I felt hopeless and guilty. I blamed myself because of my behaviors and my lifestyle that most likely was the reason why I got infected. The staff at FFH helped me see I had purpose in life and gave me hope to continue to live.

Individuals who identify as LGBT often have trouble accessing healthcare and some are even refused care because of how they identify. Even more individuals don’t seek care due to fear of discrimination from medical providers. In the past year, Family First Health has taken steps to improve primary care for LGBT individuals and is planning on offering hormone therapy in the near future.

Read the full article from Central Penn Business Journal here.