On February 8, 2024, HIV care service providers from around Alameda and Contra Costa counties gathered in the Redwood Room at Alameda County’s office for East Bay Getting to Zero’s first Regional Case Managers meeting of the 2024. These meetings are a place for those working directly with clients to come together, network, get access to important updates and problem-solve the challenges they face in their work. The objectives of this meeting were to:
- Increase knowledge of emergency housing options for clients in the East Bay- Myeeka Calhoun, East Oakland Community Project
- Build skills in conducting initial assessments- Kenny Hall, Yvette Flunders Foundation/ EBGTZ
- Increase knowledge of strategies to address the needs of undocumented clients in the East Bay- Carmen Foster, La Clinica de la Raza
Download the meeting agenda, notes, and Intake and Engagement tool:
Meeting agenda:
Intake and Engagement tool: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/general/standards/docs/intake_engagement.pdf
Download the meeting slides, including Myeeka Calhoun’s and Kenny Hall’s presentations
Download Carmen Foster’s slides
Regional Case Managers and PrEP Navigators meeting February 2024
Participants were invited to sit at a table with people they have never met to discuss some breakout topics. They are listed below, along with the responses.
- What were some of the most useful things you learned early in your career?
- Rapport Building and Active Listening
- Meet the client where they’re at – slow down and listen
- Creating a non-judgmental space
- Know what to share and when to share it
- Create transparency with clients
- Boundary-setting
- Self care
- Set realistic expectations
- know what we can and can’t control – AND communicating those expectations to clients
- Know what you don’t know- don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know
- Accept failure
- Figure out who you can ask for help
- Don’t be a hero
- Know your biases, work on them, and be thoughtful about your language
- HIV Knowledge and Skills
- HIV mechanism, medications, complications
- Good bedside manner
- Culturally responsive care
- Patients come before funder requirements
- Rapport Building and Active Listening
- What do you wish you had learned early on in your career?
- Strong boundaries
- Be patient
- Self care and burnout prevention
- Time management
- Setting priorities
- Documentation (what to document, making sure to document or it didn’t happen)
- Knowing resources and how to handoff/refer, and timeline
- Funding streams, how contracts work
- Networking – have the people you call when you are in need
- What do new MCM need to know?
- Self Care techniques
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions – if you make a mistake ask for help
- Importance of case consultation and supervision
- Take into consideration what it took for them to get to your office
- Particularly being trauma-aware and trauma-informed, ACEs informed
- How to conduct an intake
- Documentation – what to document and how to do it well
- Effective case management strategies
- Don’t take your work home
- Make good connections
- Establish realistic goals
- Finding learning opportunities
- Build a toolbox
- Build a resource list
- Slow down, have patience with the learning curve
- Don’t believe someone will fail from the start
- If you attended the meeting and haven’t filled out the follow-up evaluation form, please take a few minutes to do so now. Thank you, and we’ll see you in April 2024 for our next meeting!
