ART Clinic (A’ Clinic)
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Tracking of Files for our
Clients
ART Clinic (A’ Clinic)
A (ART) clinic is one of the departments / units in the hospital that was introduced with the purposes of providing HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support to the most vulnerable population in Acholi sub region in Northern Uganda. The department was introduced in 2005 when HIV prevalence in the region was 16% for VCT and 9 % for PMTCT coupled with high level of stigma and discrimination. The clinic since its inception to date is being supported materially and financially by MoH and PEPFAR.
The activities in the clinic follow the motto of the hospital “Love, Serve with Honesty”. The work is done with the hearts of solidarity in the suffering of humanity. In providing a comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support the center designed a participatory approaches in disseminating and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in the community; expert HIV/AIDS clients (infected HIV persons living positively) has come out to educate the general community and impart the value of positive living (living responsibly with HIV), children infected with HIV have also been trained in child counseling to support fellow children in ARV adherence.
Major Services Offered at ART Clinics:
1. HIV Testing and Counseling (HTS)
- Provider-initiated testing and counseling (PITC)
- Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT)
- Index client testing and partner notification
2. HIV Enrollment & Initiation of ART
- Clinical staging and baseline investigations
- Initiating ART as per national guidelines (Test & Treat)
3. Follow-up and Monitoring
- Routine viral load monitoring
- CD4 count (where applicable)
- Clinical and laboratory assessments
- TB symptom screening and preventive therapy
4. ARV Drug Refill and Adherence Support
- Regular drug dispensing (monthly or multi-month dispensing)
- Adherence counseling and psychosocial support
- Community-based ART models (e.g., CDDP, FBGs)
5. PMTCT Services (Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission)
- HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding mothers initiated on ART
- Routine follow-up for exposed infants
- Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) with DBS/PCR testing.
6. Laboratory Services
- Viral Load, CD4, Hematology, and Biochemistry
- Sample transportation and result retrieval
7. Psychosocial and Community Support
- Peer support groups (e.g., PSSGs, FBGs)
- Mental health screening and referrals
- Disclosure and stigma reduction counseling
8. Data Management and Patient Monitoring
- Use of UgandaEMR or other EMRs to track patient outcomes
- Cohort reporting, TX_CURR, TX_NEW, TX_RTT, etc.
The Clinic runs the following outreach health activities;
- Community Drug Distribution Programs (DDP)
- Community HIV Testing and Counseling (HTS)
- ART Adherence Support outreach
- Youth friendly services.
- Defaulter tracing and retention support
- Viral load bleeding
- Partner notification and index testing.
For effective and participatory services delivery, the hospital is using community harms (Community based organizations) especially in the areas of promoting positive living among persons infected with HIV/AIDS and supportive adherence on ART. The head of the department form part of Kitgum District HIV/AIDS committee, responsible for supervising all HIV/AIDS activities in the district. The following is the combination of staff directly responsible for the activities in the clinic
- Programme Coordinator (Medical Officer)
- Two clinical / Medical Assistants
- Two Nursing officers
- One nurse
- One dispenser
- 2 counselors
Other support staffs are;
- One monitoring and Evaluation officer
- Two record assistants
- One driver
The hospital extends gratitude to all the hearts of generosity that has contributed and is still contributing to make the vulnerable population served.
Our ART Clinic (A’ Clinic) Professionals