INNOVATIONS

The mission of the Open Arms Healthcare Center (OAHCC) is to provide innovative, holistic healthcare to underserved, underinsured, and underrepresented populations, with a special focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities in Mississippi.

SERVICES

OAHCC is designed to provide LGBT people of color with culturally and linguistically competent care in a welcoming, comfortable and safe environment. The Center provides both specialized and comprehensive primary care services with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS and cardiovascular disease. Services include:

• Gay men's health
• High-impact HIV prevention interventions, including PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis)
• HIV care
• Mental health
• Preventive screenings
• Sexual and reproductive health
• Substance abuse
• Transgender health
• Women's health

OAHCC's community-health initiative emphasizes the role that coordinated service delivery plays in prevention. In addition, OAHCC’s location along the "Jackson Healthcare Corridor" facilitates integrative services via swift referrals to nearby healthcare providers.

OAHCC's service model is based on the SAMHSA-HRSA Standard Framework for Levels of Integrated Healthcare, and is an adaptation of Standard Level 5 (Close Collaboration Approaching and Integrated Practice). Healthcare professionals collaborate directly with local community-based organizations and community members to achieve optimal patient well-being. One such partnership is with My Brother’s Keeper, a private, nonprofit parent organization dedicated to reducing health disparities within African–American patient communities.