Affinity’s Medical Director, Craig Charles, MD and Director of Programs, Heather McCutcheon are presenting at the 2018 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment being held right outside Washington, DC. Their presentation features Affinity Health Center’s Hepatitis C testing, linkage and treatment program. This biennial conference is the largest national conference for comprehensive HIV care and treatment providers, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients, and stakeholders, sponsored and funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB).

Affinity Health Center is honored to be selected as a 2019 Transformative Grant partner. Fellow grantees include 32 non-profit organizations from all nine Deep South states whose projects span seven different programmatic focus areas. These one-year grants address disparities within the Southern HIV epidemic by increasing organizational capacity, reducing stigma, and promoting well-being, mental health, and telehealth. This opportunity is funded through the Gilead COMPASS Initiative in cooperation with Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. #TransformTheSouth #COMPASSInitiative

Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace is going strong through December 15, 2018. Have questions about premiums? Want to know if you qualify? Try this Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator. Need help? Call Affinity Health Center and make an appointment for one-on-one assistance to sign up for your perfect plan. We even help with Medicaid applications.

October marks the beginning of Influenza Season each year in the United States and Affinity Health Center is ready to offer the Influenza Vaccine or flu shot to our patients.

Here’s four reasons to get your flu shot:

• The more people who get the flu shot, the better for everyone.  More immune people means that the flu virus has more trouble moving through the greater community, saving more folks at high risk of flu infection.
• It is impossible for the flu vaccine to give you the flu; there is nothing alive (viral or otherwise) in the flu shot.  It is created to simply stimulate your immune system in preparation to kill the flu virus should you encounter it.
• Thousands of people die of the flu every flu season; almost all of these deaths occur because the victim failed to get a flu shot, meaning their death was PREVENTABLE!
• You’re probably not allergic to anything in the flu shot. Many people believe they are allergic to something in the flu vaccine, but studies have shown that this is almost never the case.  People claiming allergies have undergone allergy testing and have shown no allergic reaction to components of the flu shot.

Make an appointment for your flu shot at Affinity or take advantage of flu clinics at local pharmacies, schools, or employers. Remember, getting your flu shot not only protects you, but everyone else.

We are pleased to announce that Affinity received the following Quality Improvement Awards from HRSA, all of which come with additional grant funding to support our quality initiatives:

• Clinical Quality Improver Award (Made at least 10% improvement in one or more clinical quality measures between 2016 and 2017)
• Enhancing Access to Care Award (Increased the total number of patients served and the number of patients receiving comprehensive services between 2016 and 2017)
• Delivering High Value Health Care Award (Improved the delivery of cost efficient care as compared with the national average while also increasing quality of care and improving patient access to comprehensive services (we were the only health center in South Carolina to receive this award!)
• Advancing Health Information Technology Award (Utilized health information technology systems to increase access to care and advance quality of care)
• Achieving Patient Center Medical Home Recognition Award (achieved PCMH recognition)

Learn more about Health Center Quality Improvement Grant Awards in South Carolina on hrsa.gov

Join us Thursday 10/4/18 at 4:00 pm to kick off our first MBSR session in our new building. Learn how Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can help you live better and become happier by practicing simple techniques proven to reduce chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and stress. Try this 8 week MBSR course for yourself and start living a better happier life.

• Learn a scientifically proven drug free method to reduce levels of stress chemicals in the body.
• Slow mind chatter allowing you to focus with a simple technique you can use anytime, anywhere.
• Discover one simple practice that can alleviate pain and allow you to more easily cope with chronic health conditions.

This free course meets twice a week for 8 weeks through 11/29/18. Participation is open to all community members, you do not have to be a patient of Affinity Health Center to attend. Bring an open mind and wear comfortable clothes. Space is limited.

Contact Katie Laney at 803-909-9717 or Lane Brafford at 803-909-9709 to reserve your spot and start reducing your stress.

Tuesdays & Thursdays
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Starts Thursday, October 4th.

Session Dates:

• Thursday 10/4
• Tuesday 10/9
• Thursday 10/11
• Tuesday 10/16
• Thursday 10/18
• Tuesday 10/23
• Thursday 10/25
• Tuesday 10/30
• Thursday 11/1
• Tuesday 11/6
• Thursday 11/8
• Tuesday 11/13
• Thursday 11/16
• Tuesday 11/20
• No Class on Thanksgiving
• Tuesday 11/27
• Thursday 11/29

About 300 guests, community partners, community members, Affinity staff and event sponsors gathered to celebrate a new vision of community health in Rock Hill during our Open House. Thanks to everyone for making it an evening to remember. The live music was a treat. Chef Rob and crew from Kre8 Xperiences wowed everyone with the inventive eats. Those that toured the building will enjoy an update: Avita Pharmacy, conveniently located in the lobby, opens tomorrow and dental services will start in our new building next week. Thanks to so many local artists that attended and lent their talents to not only dress our walls, but to emphasize our commitment to serving this community. A special thanks to Terry Roueche and several guests for taking and sharing photos of the event. Thank you to our sponsors for making our Open House a success!

Celebrate a new vision of community health during our Open House on Thursday, July 26th from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Hear about expanded services coming soon including in house pharmacy and full time onsite dental. Take a tour of the new facility. Enjoy live music and food by Chef Rob while getting to know our community partners, board, patients and staff.

Thank You Sponsors!

We’re grateful to our event sponsors for making our Open House celebration possible. These sponsors, along with the commitment of our community partners, do so much to support our mission of providing quality comprehensive healthcare with compassion, dignity and respect. We would like to extend a special thank you to our Vision Sponsor Avita Pharmacy.

Staff from all four Affinity Health Center sites welcome you to our new main site facility in Rock Hill. We’re excited about being able to serve more patients in our beautiful new space. The new building is open for business and seeing patients now. Stop by, we’re just down the street from our previous location on Lakeshore Parkway. Look for announcements on expanded dental services and the opening of an on-site pharmacy in the coming months.

Finishing touches are being made and we’re almost ready to move. Our main site in Rock Hill will be closed to move Thursday, June 21st and Friday, June 22nd. We will reopen at our new location on Monday, June 25th. Limited sick appointments will be available June 25-29. We’ll be moving just around the bend in the same office park. Here are a few things to help make the transition as smooth as possible:

• We will be answering phones on June 21 & 22
• The Clover satellite site will be open June 21 & 22
• Our new address: 455 Lakeshore Pkwy., Rock Hill, SC 29730