The Denver Sexually Transmitted Disease/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (STD/HIV)Prevention Training Center (PTC) Part I will provide clinical training for STD medical andlaboratory services throughout Region VIII, including the states of Colorado, Montana, NorthDakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Established in 1979 as one of the first clinicaltraining sites, the Denver PTC has a long history of translating state-of-the-art researchfindings into high-quality STD/HIV training programs targeting health professionals acrossthe region. Uniquely positioned in Region VIII both physically and organizationally, theDenver PTC is just steps away from the Denver Metro Health Clinic (DMHC), the largestSTD clinic in the region, and is headed by Comelis 'Kees' Rietmeijer, MD, Ph.D., MedicalDirector for both programs. Dr. Rietmeijer has, and will continue to have, authority over theDenver PTC Clinical Branch.The Denver PTC has both a strong partnership and a long working history with its academicpartner, the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC), aswell as with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Otherkey collaborators include the Denver PTCs Part II and III; Mountain Plains AIDS Educationand Training Center (AETC) and their state-based training centers; John Snow Inc. (JSI), thearea's Regional Training Center (RTC), and their Title X sites; Indian Health Services (IHS);the Salt Lake Valley Health Department (SLVHD); the Montana, North Dakota, SouthDakota, Wyoming and Utah Departments of Health; and Kaiser Permanente, the region'slargest managed care provider.Over the 5 year grant cycle, the Denver PTC will conduct 100 courses with didactic content,145 courses with experiential content and 100-150 educational programs, reaching a total of2,700 providers. The short-term objectives of the program will be to increase providerknowledge, skills and proficiency in the diagnosis, treatment and management of STDs andHIV. The long-term goals will be to address the Healthy People 2010 focus areas of STDand HIV, which include increasing CT & GC screening, treatment and partner treatment;decreasing primary and secondary syphilis; decreasing congenital syphilis; decreasing thenumbers of persons at high risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV infection; and increasingthe proportion of HIV-infected people who know they are infected.Ongoing needs assessment and evaluation will be performed to provide continuous qualityimprovement during the grant cycle. Working with our academic partners at the Departmentof Health Behavioral Sciences (HBS) at UCDHSC, regular needs assessment and programoutcome data will be collected, analyzed, and reviewed at frequent intervals to refine andimprove the quality of course content, format, delivery and marketing.
