Bailey-Boushay House Programs
The Outpatient Program offers rehabilitative, educational and social services that are staffed by a multi-disciplinary team specially trained to address the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and other life threatening diseases. The team includes nurses, occupational therapists, chemical dependency counselors, social workers, recreation workers, a registered dietician, psychiatrist, client advocates and volunteers. Within the Outpatient Program are two distinct, long-standing programs - the Nutrition and Medication Management Programs - which are designed to meet the basic nutritional and complex medication needs of our clients.
Through the Nutrition Program, clients are served twice-daily meals. BBH dieticians are also available to work with each client to create a personalized nutrition plan, which takes into account all of his or her health and life circumstances, including the medications being taken. Through the Medication Management Program, clients receive all of their medications, including the drug names and dosages, prescribing doctor, and the day/time to take the pills. Nurses are available on-site to educate clients about their medication plan, such as the potential side effects and best timing of taking their medications.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Through our Outpatient Program, we have been able to effectively reach our target population--serving over 250 clients a year who are living with HIV/AIDS within and beyond King County. Last year, through the Outpatient Medication Management Program, over one million doses of medication were provided to clients and through the Nutrition Program, more than 30,000 meals were served. Graduation from the Outpatient Program is the primary indicator of program success. Requirements for graduation include a variety of ways clients need to again be able to care for themselves, including the ability to adhere to their nutrition plan and medication regimen. This means the client can successfully take HIV/AIDS medications (and medications for other chronic health conditions), in the right dose and at the right time of day, at least 90 percent of the time, in conjunction with proper meal/snack times.
Over the past 3 years, we have had a consistent rate of above 80 percent of outpatient clients who have had an adherence score greater than 90 percent, and 14 percent of clients who have had an adherence score between 65 and 89 percent. The statistic that we are the most proud of is that the average medication score for a client served during this time period is 96 percent. The Outpatient Program has again proven that it is successful in assisting individuals with managing multiple medications--particularly given that medication compliance in the general population is only 50 percent.