[HIV-STD-Prevention] Weekly Prevention Resources - February 18, 2026 #u#

Shelley Pearson (she/her) SHELLEY.M.PEARSON at oha.oregon.gov
Wed Feb 18 16:36:52 PST 2026 

Hello, HIV and STI Prevention partners,

Welcome to this week’s HIV/STI Prevention listserv email! Please email me at shelley.m.pearson at oha.oregon.gov<mailto:shelley.m.pearson at oha.oregon.gov> with any feedback about the listserv, with announcements/resources to share, or if you have colleagues who would like to be added to the list. For more information about the resources shared, please reach out via the contact information on each item. Information is provided for educational purposes only. Sharing this content is not an OHA endorsement.

In this email (click on any title to jump to that section):

  *   HST LPHA Community Service Award Nominations due February 27
  *   Condom Connect Applications Now Open (closes February 27)
  *   Policy Solutions to Coverage Churn: Ryan White, Medicaid, Medicare and Care & Prevention Continuity Webinar (February 27)
  *   340-Be Empowered: Responding to Policy Changes with Resilience Webinar (March 4)
  *   Launch of Request for Proposals – Pathways to Care: The Relink HIV Initiative (deadline March 31)
  *   Certified in Disease Intervention (CDI) Application Portal Now Open (with attached pdf)
  *   University of Washington Infectious Diseases Education & Assessment (IDEA) Program Updates

________________________________

HST’s third annual LPHA Community Service Award will be presented at the 2026 Annual Oregon Epidemiologists' (OR-Epi) Meeting<https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/DiseasesConditions/CommunicableDisease/Pages/OR-Epi.aspx> (April 29-May1, 2026 at Sunriver, OR).

The LPHA Community Service Award is intended to honor a local public health staff person or program who made a distinguished, unique or exceptional contribution to the field of HIV/STD/TB prevention or case investigation.


  *   Nomination Form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/51dad20c2766490b8d980d39ab6b9bdc
  *   Nominations due: Friday, February 27, 2026



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Condom Connect Applications Now Open
NCSD is excited to announce that the Condom Connect 2026 application has opened! The NCSD-Trojan Brand Condoms partnership was born in 2014 in order to connect NCSD member health departments with condom resources. Church & Dwight, the parent company of Trojan Brand Condoms, leverages its resources in collaboration with NCSD to donate one million condoms every year to programs and partners across the nation to help promote and normalize condom usage. Apply Now<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/66XCTWN>

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[https://default.salsalabs.org/93dced84-aee9-4ef3-9e5f-e52b8336d4dd/aeebef62-1d6b-4ba4-be03-0a321a954d04.jpg]

Join HealthHIV on Friday, February 27, 2026 at 12:00pm Eastern for a webinar that will focus on how providers, navigators, and advocates respond in real-time when coverage instability disrupts HIV care across Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace plans, and employer-sponsored insurance. Using Florida's current ADAP changes as a real-time example, the webinar will connect immediate mitigation steps to broader coverage churn across Florida and other jurisdictions or states.
Panelists will center on practical decision points and policy implications, highlighting how treatment instability driven by short-term cost strategies ultimately shifts costs downstream and undermines long-term HIV prevention and care continuity.
Learning Objectives
• Recognize early warning signs and understand how coverage disruptions affect treatment continuity and prevention access across Medicaid redeterminations and eligibility reviews, ACA (Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act) Marketplace changes, employer-sponsored plans, and ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) transitions.
• Take immediate, practical steps to stabilize care by improving transparency from ADAP and payers to clients about coverage transitions, including what is changing, when it takes effect, and how to avoid care disruption.
• Engage effectively in state and local decision-making, knowing where ADAP, Medicaid, and related coverage decisions are made and how advocates, providers, and navigators can influence outcomes before disruptions.
Please note that this webinar does not offer continuing education credits.
Register Here<https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oh2VY27sT7OB7SS58bHVSA#/registration?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=93dced84-aee9-4ef3-9e5f-e52b8336d4dd>

About HealthHIV
HealthHIV is a national non-profit advancing effective prevention, care, support, and health equity in HIV, HCV, STIs, LGBTQ Health, and Drug User Health by providing education, training, capacity building, health services research, communications and advocacy to organizations, communities, and professionals. Visit HealthHIV.org<https://healthhiv.org/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=93dced84-aee9-4ef3-9e5f-e52b8336d4dd> to learn more.
Questions?
Contact Ben Hughes, Senior Health Policy Analyst, at Ben<https://default.salsalabs.org/Ta2884824-733a-4aa2-a2cf-3e84a1a4bbcc/104198d6-4c1a-4613-9ba4-abd184cdd00a>@HealthHIV.org<https://default.salsalabs.org/T5ac05442-a284-4bf5-9bcc-4087f016b42a/104198d6-4c1a-4613-9ba4-abd184cdd00a>.


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Does your program have STD-type 340B covered entity status? If so, you may want to attend NCSD’s upcoming webinar, 340-Be Empowered: Responding to Policy Changes with Resilience (An NCSD SPEAKS* Webinar)
Mar 4, 2026, 12:00 PM Pacific Time
The NCSD Policy team will empower Section 318 grantees in navigating confirmed and anticipated changes to the 340B policy landscape. This webinar will offer a concise overview of the 340B Program as it applies to Section 318 grantees, including STI prevention programs, and will focus on current and emerging policy developments that will affect how covered entities operate. Drawing on NCSD’s in-house expertise, the session will equip participants with practical, actionable strategies they can implement to feel confident with 340B program management in a changing policy landscape.

Please note: This webinar is intended for Section 318 grantees who directly oversee or support the implementation of 340B in the STI sector.
*Strengthening Policy Engagement, Assessment, and Knowledge with Stakeholders, or SPEAKS, sessions offer professionals working in the STI sector an opportunity to sharpen their policy skills by accessing virtual workshops and webinars that center policy-related themes.

Register Here<https://ncsddc-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LRM0LyFkSmS_i_fEOUjVFA#/registration>

________________________________

NASTAD is pleased to announce the launch of the Pathways to Care – The Relink HIV Initiative Request for Proposals (RFP), a new national grantmaking opportunity supported through a $5 million award to NASTAD under Gilead Sciences’ Relink HIV grant program. While Gilead Sciences is the funder of this initiative, NASTAD will independently design, implement, and manage all aspects of the initiative with minimal funder input into program implementation.

The Relink HIV Initiative is a two-year effort designed to strengthen the capacity of health departments, community-based organizations, and other HIV-serving entities to re-engage people with HIV who are not currently in care. The initiative emphasizes data-informed strategies, community partnership, and equity-centered approaches that can be embedded into existing local systems and sustained beyond the grant period.

Through this initiative, NASTAD will support up to 15 funded organizations nationwide. Eligible applicants include state, territorial, and local health departments; community-based organizations; and other nonprofit organizations, including those with demonstrated partnerships with health departments or access to Not-In-Care data. Anticipated awards will range from $175,000 to $500,000 per organization, with the opportunity to request additional funding based on program scope, population size, and demonstrated need.

The RFP is now available <https://nastad.org/pathways-to-care> here<https://nastad.org/pathways-to-care>. Members are encouraged to review the opportunity and to share and repost the RFP through local and regional communication channels to support broad awareness among eligible partners. If you have additional questions regarding this initiative, please contact Auntré Hamp<mailto:ahamp at nastad.org> or Ricardo Fernandez<mailto:rfernandez at nastad.org>.

NASTAD looks forward to working with members and partners to advance equitable, sustainable approaches to re-engagement in HIV care and to generate models that can be scaled nationally.

Stephen Lee MD, MBA, DHSM
Executive Director
Pronouns: He/Him/His

202.897.0028 | slee at NASTAD.org<mailto:slee at NASTAD.org>
Connect with us:  LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/nastad> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/NASTAD> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/NASTAD> | YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/user/NASTAD1992> | Instagram<http://www.instagram.com/nastad1992>

NASTAD | 444 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 339 | Washington, DC 20001| NASTAD.org<http://www.nastad.org/>



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Supported by cooperative agreement CK20-2003 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), in collaboration with the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), is developing the Certified in Disease Intervention (CDI) program.



The CDI program aims to standardize and validate the knowledge, skills, and abilities of disease intervention professionals; increase quality and consistency of service delivery; support recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce; and strengthen pathways from educational institutions to careers in disease intervention.



The CDI credential establishes a national standard for disease intervention practice and recognizes the applied skills of professionals working to prevent and control infectious diseases.



We are pleased to share the CDI Application Portal opens February 17, 2026, with testing beginning April 1, 2026. During the CDC-supported pilot phase (through September 29, 2026), exam fees are waived for eligible candidates.



While many disease intervention professionals may hold academic degrees in public health or related fields, the CDI credential validates role-specific competencies that may not be fully captured through degree programs. It supports both disease intervention workforce pipeline development and professional recognition for experienced practitioners.



Learn more by reviewing the attached FAQs.





Jeffrey Hitt

Project Officer

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

404-718-5936

________________________________

University of Washington Infectious Diseases Education & Assessment (IDEA<https://idea.medicine.uw.edu/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU>) Program Updates:

National STD Curriculum


  *   Two National STD Curriculum Podcast<https://www.std.uw.edu/podcast?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> episodes review nine 2024 STI Prevention Conference oral abstracts with information on innovative programs to increase STI testing rates and novel oral antibiotics for gonorrhea. The January episode reviews four 2025 BV studies.

National HIV Curriculum


  *   Based on new CDC guidelines, the National HIV Curriculum<https://www.hiv.uw.edu/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> Occupational Postexposure Prophylaxis<https://www.hiv.uw.edu/go/prevention/occupational-postexposure-prophylaxis/core-concept/all?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> and Nonoccupational Postexposure Prophylaxis<https://www.hiv.uw.edu/go/prevention/nonoccupational-postexposure-prophylaxis/core-concept/all?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> lessons were significantly revised and updated with new content.

Hepatitis B Online


  *   Health care professionals can learn how to diagnose, treat, and prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and earn 12 free CME/CNE/CE and Certificates of Completion on the new, federally-funded Hepatitis B Online<https://www.hepatitisb.uw.edu/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> 3rd Edition.


  *   Hepatitis B Management: Guidance for the Primary Care Provider<https://www.hepatitisb.uw.edu/page/primary-care-workgroup/guidance?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU> provides simplified, up-to-date guidance on how to diagnose, manage, and prevent hepatitis B. Developed by a national workgroup and hosted on Hepatitis B Online<https://www.hepatitisb.uw.edu/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_id=Feb26IQU>.

IDEA Program Site


  *   The updated IDEA Program site<https://idea.medicine.uw.edu/> features new curricula descriptions, data points such as 247,000 registered learners earned 1.1M CE and 600K Certificates of Completion, and feedback from learners and learning group owners.

Todd Hull
Curriculum Training Specialist | IDEA Program | University of Washington
emilgarr at uw.edu<mailto:emilgarr at uw.edu>

________________________________

Shelley Pearson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
HIV/STI Administrative and Communications Specialist
Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division
Phone: 503-381-6173 (text capable)
OHA Customer Service Poll (Public Health Division)<https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=6GOOZTmNnEmPSBOtyUUvTPXWsxYAw9pMruc-dmI4GGhURTZUVTUzVERLUFRYMTk0MzROUVpBMExFRy4u&route=shorturl>
[Oregon Health Authority Logo]





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