Page 10 - Christiana Care Focus August 2018

In Our Community |
Now named the William J. Holloway, M.D., Community Program, the program has served people with HIV since 1986. Originally called the Christiana Care HIV Program, it began as a series of clinics and has evolved with medical advances and shifts in the population it serves.
“In the beginning, patients were very sick. Patients were dying,” said Arlene Bincsik, MS, RN, CCRC, ACRN, program director, who has worked with the program since its inception. “As a health care professional, to see HIV go from a disease that is 100-percent fatal to a manageable chronic disease is nothing short of amazing.”
In 2015, the program began treating patients with hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that causes inflammation of the liver and can lead to liver failure. Thanks to new drugs, hepatitis C can now be cured.
The program’s new name is a tribute to one of its founders. William J. Holloway, M.D., was the driving force behind establishing a program focused on patients with HIV. Although he was nearing retirement, Dr. Holloway kept working to found the HIV clinic.
“He is considered the grandfather of infectious disease in Delaware, very knowledgeable and kind to both patients and the staff,” said
TSusan Szabo, M.D., medical director of the program.
he Holloway Community Program is multidisciplinary, with a staff comprising experts in infectious disease, internal medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, social work and peer education.
With clinical sites in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, the program provides services to a growing number of patients. In 2017, 1,717 HIV-positive patients received care during 11,959 visits. More than 2,500 patient visits were to the team’s pharmacists, who play an essential role in educating patients.
“Our Pharm.D’s do assessments with patients as to what type of medications fit into their lifestyle and talk to them about side effects,” Bincsik said. “They participate in rounding, educate the staff and add tremendous value to the patients and to our team.”
The Holloway Community Program is the only site in Delaware designated as a Ryan White center, part of a federal program for receiving and distributing antiretroviral medications that help people with HIV to manage their disease. The program often is the sole source of treatment for patients without insurance.
“It means that everyone who needs treatment has access to treatment,” Bincsik said.
“About 80 percent of patients rely on the program as their sole source of primary care.”
Susan Szabo, M.D.
Patient relationship ‘key to everything’
About 80 percent of patients rely on the program as their sole source of primary care, Dr. Szabo said. Care for patients is individualized, with some patients coming in weekly so the staff can help them manage their medications. The staff also helps in addressing patients' food, housing, transportation and behavioral health needs.
“We have patients we have taken care of for more than 20 years,” Bincsik said. “Our relationship with our patients is key to everything.”
Josh Sheets is one of more than 200 patients who receive care at the Kent Wellness Center in Smyrna. Sheets, 30, has relied on the center to provide expert, respectful care since his HIV diagnosis five years ago.
“It’s the only place I have gone for HIV care,” Sheets said.
After his diagnosis, a social worker helped him to establish eligibility for the Ryan White program.
“He also provided me with handouts for good nutrition and the importance of getting regular care,” he said. “I had a great first experience there, so I kept coming back.”
“All of our patients have a story, and each story matters. It’s our passion to work with them to ensure they enjoy a great quality of life.”
Joni Miller, MSN, RN, ACRN
8 CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM