|
CMS establishes 60-day special enrollment period
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established a 60-day Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) clients impacted by recent state program changes. The SEP began on Mar. 1 and will run through April 30.
| |
Next UNCENSORED webinar
Mar. 25 - 12 p.m. ET (4 p.m. GMT)
Dr. Fadul will explore how immigration policy and enforcement affect access to HIV care. The discussion will focus on practical strategies for healthcare providers supporting immigrant patients navigating fear, uncertainty and barriers to care. Register.
| |
Use of digital tools see reduction in HIV cases
A recent presentation at CROI described a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that reduced new HIV cases by 70% in rural Kenya and Uganda by pairing digital tools with tailored HIV services delivered by community health workers and clinicians. Read more.
Join an ANAC Global Working Group
ANAC’s Global Working Groups are open to all members interested in strengthening HIV nursing and global collaboration. These groups bring members together to share ideas, support initiatives and expand ANAC’s global impact.
Working Groups include:
- Global Advocacy
- Global Education
- Global Chapter Development
You can participate as much or as little as you like. Join discussions, contribute ideas or stay connected to the work.
Stay updated on meeting dates and upcoming activities by adding them to your calendar:
HTML or ICS and join the global WhatsApp group.
| Education & Professional Development | |
New information on program changes based on budget issues
KFF released an analysis, Constrained Budgets Lead States to Restrict HIV Drug Access Through Ryan White, that examines the current landscape, the intersecting pressures driving these changes and historical trends that shed light on the evolving challenges programs are facing.
Help shape the future of LAI PrEP implementation
ANAC is recruiting clinicians to participate in small, facilitated roundtables on long-acting injectable PrEP. Participants will receive compensation. If you are interested, contact Sheila@anacnet.org.
| Our Chapters & Committees | | |
Rhode Island Chapter seeks new members
The Rhode Island Chapter of ANAC (RIANAC) is excited to announce the reinvigoration of the chapter! The chapter kicked off with an in-person meeting Mar. 10 featuring a presentation on “HIV Inequities and Disparities - Where are we in 2026?” Please refer interested colleagues to: anacrhodeisland@gmail.com for more information on the chapter, upcoming events and membership opportunities.
Join the Membership Committee!
Looking for a way to get more involved with ANAC? The Membership Committee is a great place to start. This group focuses on strengthening our community by welcoming new members, enhancing member benefits, and finding creative ways to keep nurses and healthcare professionals engaged in ANAC’s work.
Whether you’re passionate about member engagement, communications, recruitment or building connections across our global network, we’d love to have your voice at the table. Learn more.
| | |
Sigma/ANAC research grant applications open
The purpose of the Sigma/Association of Nurses in AIDS Care research grant is to encourage research career development of nurses through support of clinically oriented HIV/AIDS research and increase the number of HIV studies being done by nurses. This includes studies focused on HIV prevention, symptom management, promotion of self-care and adherence. Application deadline is April 1. Visit Sigma Nursing for more information and to apply.
Research Committee seeks abstract reviewers
If you are interested in getting more involved with the ANAC2026 Conference, the Research Committee is looking for additional abstract reviewers to help shape an engaging and unforgettable conference experience. If you are interested in serving in this role, please contact Sheila@anacnet.org.
Abstract submissions are open for ANAC2026
ANAC seeks abstracts for oral concurrent sessions, posters and student posters. Submissions should reflect innovative strategies that bridge gaps in prevention, treatment and support services; strengthen trust and engagement; and address structural barriers and social determinants of health. ANAC welcomes abstracts that showcase evidence-based practice, research, implementation strategies and replicable solutions that advance health equity, foster community partnership and enhance access, linkage, retention and quality care across diverse and underserved populations. Learn more and submit before April 13. Submit an abstract for ANAC2026!
Research study help needed
Participants are needed for a research study about the use of ChatGPT by women's health providers. Both providers (healthcare professionals who work with at least >15% of patients who identify as Black women) and participants (aged 18 years or older and identify as a Black woman) are eligible.
| Member Benefits & Opportunities | | |
HANCB
ANAC members receive discounts on ACRN, AACRN and ACLPN certification and recertification fees. Learn more about becoming an HIV certified nurse through HANCB and celebrate Certified Nurses Day on March 19!
Award nominations open
ANAC recognizes excellence and achievement in a variety of areas, including clinical practice, leadership, research, education and prevention. The awards offer you the opportunity to honor a member you admire who has advanced HIV or HIV-related nursing and enhanced the growth of ANAC. Self-nominations are permitted. Make your nominations by March 31!
| |
|
Nursing Research Capacity Front and Center
JANAC highlights a new article this month on strengthening nursing research capacity to end the HIV epidemic—a call to mobilize nurse scientists and practicing nurses to drive the next wave of prevention and care innovations. The piece distills insights from the Mid Atlantic CFAR Nursing Initiative Symposium (May 2024), outlining concrete moves to expand mentorship, funding pathways, and cross CFAR collaboration—especially for early career and underrepresented scholars. You’ll find practical ideas anchored in NIH/NINR priorities, plus an inventive strategy session using LEGO® Serious Play® to surface high impact research questions and solutions. Three take home themes: elevate nursing influence in HIV science, reorient nurse led policy and practice toward equity, and bolster HIV care continuum outcomes.
Nurse-led innovations featured:
- Liberatory funding models and multisector partnerships to dismantle structural barriers and align resources with community defined needs.
- Nurse delivered models of care that decentralize services and prioritize SDOH informed, culturally responsive approaches—including curricula enhancements and task sharing to reach emerging populations.
- Evidence to policy pathways led by nurses (e.g., defining monitoring & evaluation metrics, advocating for equitable access beyond state by state program variability).
- Implementation exemplars spanning adherence interventions and community engaged research showcased in the symposium’s mentoring day and poster session, offering ready templates for scale up
Read the JANAC article: Strengthening Nursing Research Capacity to End the HIV Epidemic: Qualitative Insights of the Mid Atlantic CFAR Nursing Initiative Symposium
| | Upcoming Conference & Events | |
ANAC2026: San Diego
Bridges Over Borders: Advancing HIV Care through Community Connectedness and Health Equity
Seeking sponsors and exhibitors
Be a part of ANAC2026 and get your company or organization noticed! Our sponsors and exhibitors receive great benefits and recognition opportunities throughout the conference.
Abstract submissions and Award nominations are now open. Don't delay!
| |
San Diego fun fact
Coronado Bridge connects San Diego with the small seaside community of Coronado. Its curved structure was created in order to accommodate the clearance needed for ships from nearby Naval Base San Diego to pass underneath. Opened in 1969, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan was the first person to drive across the bridge.
| |
ACTHIV Conference coming soon
The 20th Annual ACTHIV Conference is April 30 - May 2 in Atlanta. In-person and online options are available. Learn more and register today.
| |
Get to know the ANAC staff
Mwikali Kamami
Manager of Global and Policy Initiatives
Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA and occasionally Nairobi, Kenya
My work focuses on strengthening ANAC’s global engagement, advancing policy and advocacy priorities, and creating opportunities for members around the world to participate in all that ANAC has to offer. This includes developing global programs, supporting chapter formation, coordinating advocacy efforts, and managing educational initiatives that elevate the voices and experiences of nurses working in HIV care globally.
Key highlights:
- Launched ANAC’s Global Working Groups, bringing together members from multiple countries to collaborate on advocacy, chapters, and program development
- Relaunched the UNCENSORED webinar series to address emerging policy and clinical issues affecting HIV care
What’s next/What you’re currently working on:
- Developing a Global Community of Practice Guide and working toward launching at least two international communities
- Continuing the global advocacy project documenting how funding changes are impacting HIV services and nursing practice worldwide
- Expanding the UNCENSORED series with additional sessions focused on immigration, trans healthcare access and other policy issues affecting care
- Planning ANAC’s participation and programming for the International AIDS Society (IAS) AIDS2026 Conference
| | |
Helen Miramontes Advocacy Award
Carol Dawson Rose, PhD, RN, FAAN, ACRN
This award is presented by ANAC and Until There’s A Cure Foundation to an ANAC member whose work focuses on improving the lives of vulnerable persons or communities, influences policy at a local, state, national or international level and whose drive, motivations and passion affect change.
Carol Dawson-Rose, RN, PhD, FAAN serves as the Dean and Styles Professor of the School of Nursing and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs at the University of California, San Francisco. Dean Dawson-Rose is an ACRN who started her career during the AIDS pandemic, providing home hospice care to San Franciscans. She started volunteering in 1990 at the Women’s Aids Network at the urging of Helen Miramontes and then joined the policy committee, eventually co-authoring the Women’s AIDS Policy Agenda in 1996.
Her research expertise is community-engaged and rooted in the experience of people living with HIV (PLWH), in translating and implementing evidence-based and policy-driven interventions for PLWH, and in addressing disparities in treatment experienced in HIV care settings.
She previously held the James P. and Marjorie A. Livingston Chair in Nursing Excellence and currently represents the School of Nursing on the UCSF AIDS Research Institute executive committee and the internal advisory board for the Center for AIDS Research.
| |
Joanne Ruiz Achievement for Excellence in Clinical Practice in HIV
Sarah Ionson, BScN, RN, ACRN
This award is named in honor of Joanne Ruiz (1949-1991), one of the first nurses in the United States to acquire HIV through occupational exposure. Despite this, she continued as an HIV/AIDS nurse and was admired by her colleagues for her compassionate care and non-judgmental respect for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. This award recognizes an outstanding ANAC nurse clinician who brings knowledge, skill and caring to people with HIV and their loved ones.
Sarah Ionson is a dedicated Registered Nurse and the Clinic Lead at Blue Door Clinic, a unique HIV primary care program serving uninsured and precariously insured people living with HIV in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science from Queen’s University and a Professional Diploma in Tropical Nursing from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Her clinical expertise includes HIV/AIDS care, public health, refugee and migration health, and harm reduction.
Under her leadership as Clinic Lead and as Co-Chair of both the Ontario HIV Clinic Network and the Health Network for Uninsured Clients, Sarah has positioned Blue Door Clinic as a provincial leader in HIV care for uninsured people, advancing responsive, client-centered approaches that address complex needs, shape policy, and expand system capacity to better serve marginalized communities across Ontario.
In 2023, Sarah was the recipient of the National Award of Excellence in HIV Advocacy issued by the Canadian Association of Nurses in HIV/AIDS Care (CANAC), recognizing her exceptional dedication and impact. Sarah is a local and global activist and lifelong advocate dedicated to building systems rooted in health equity, human rights, and collective liberation for all communities.
| | |
Make a donation to support conference scholarships
Conference scholarships provide opportunities for healthcare providers, researchers and students to attend the ANAC conference when they otherwise would not have been able. Make a donation today to support our scholarship fund and give others to opportunity to attend ANAC2026 in San Diego!
"Receiving an ANAC scholarship lifted financial barriers, allowing me to attend a vital conference in my career journey, one that fueled my growth as a healthcare professional. The ANAC conference empowered me to lead as a POZ Trans Woman of color, amplify marginalized voices, and advocate for healthcare equity—transforming opportunity into impact for folks like myself in the TGNB community and beyond."
Kimberly Skeete, CRC, CPT1
2025 Scholarship recipient
2026 Conference co-chair
| Partner & Sponsor Updates | |
Organizational memberships
ANAC offers organizational and corporate memberships for schools of nursing and aligned partners who want to invest in clinicians and researchers, strengthen HIV nursing education, and connect their teams to a global network of HIV care leaders. Organizational membership is a great way to expand access to ANAC resources, learning opportunities and engagement across your institution.
APHA award nominations
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is accepting award applications in several categories. The awards will be presented at the 2026 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo Nov. 1-4 in San Antonio, TX. The deadline for nominations is April 20, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
| | | | |
