HomePatients & VisitorsSpecialty ServicesParkland HIV Services DepartmentGetting Started Or Returning to Care
Post Natal Nurse Home Visitor Program
Breast cancer – early detection
Pharmacy Residency (PGY1)
PGY1/PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration & Leadership Residency with MBA
VIP / Rape Crisis Center Internships

Getting Started Or Returning to Care

You deserve a team who understand how the parts of your care fit together. You deserve to be as healthy as possible. Your primary care provider wants to support all your care needs. At Parkland, primary care providers (PCP) work as a team to support you. Your PCP may be a:
  • Doctor
  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Advanced Practice Provider
Remember, you play an active role in your healthcare needs. Your PCP will answer your questions. Your PCP will ask how you feel about the care plan. Together you will decide and then stick to the plan.

Recently Diagnosed Or Returning to Care?

Case managers help people with their medical care in and outside the hospital. Case managers can help you stick with your decided care plan. At first you might want lots of support. Later you might not need as much. Know that options are available. Plan to check in twice a year to renew your financing.

Own your health.
You are at the center of your health plans. It is important that you play an active role in your healthcare. Find your old medical records. This will give your team a more complete picture of your health.

Ask lots of questions.
It is essential that you understand your care plan. And that the plan has your input. The decisions you and your provider make impacts your health and quality of life.

Understand tests.
Find out what tests are for and how the test will help you. A positive HIV test means you have the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The test does not tell how long you have had the virus or how sick you might be. Your primary care provider will explain before tests begin. Then tests will gather information on your overall health. Tests will focus on the condition of your immune system.

Rapid start.
The Early Intervention Services program, or Immediate Start of Antiretroviral Treatment (iSTAT) Clinic is Parkland HIV Services Department’s Rapid Start Program. Patients receive ART medications within 24-72 hours of their healthcare diagnosis. Due to Parkland HIV Services Department affiliation with the Department of State Health Services funded Routine HIV testing program at Parkland’s Emergency Department, the iSTAT program aims to link newly diagnosed, antiretroviral therapy (ART) naive patients to HIV primary care the day they are diagnosed.

Education – The Basics

View our training videos in seven narrated segments that total 30 minutes. Learn how things work at Parkland. Learn what pPapers to bring for financial coverage. Learn bBasic terms about HIV.

Community Services Handbook

The Community Services Handbook lists more than 50 categories of services for people living with HIV in the North Texas area. The handbook cross lists Ryan White agencies along with community partners offering Spanish speaking, sign-language and teletypewriter services. The handbook is not a list of every service available. Organizations listed do not constitute an endorsement by Dallas County, the Texas Department of State Health Services, or Parkland Health & Hospital System. Request a printed copy from Case Management.

Client and Family Resource Guide

Prepare for your first HIV primary care appointment at Parkland. Request a printed copy of the resource guide from Case Management. Whether you are just starting care with Parkland or returning, the guide will welcome and inform you further about the Parkland HIV Services Department.