Case Study · PL Cares · HIV
Bridging the distance between isolated patients and the care they need.
AID Upstate implemented PL Cares in 2019 to reach clients who lacked reliable communication. Three years later: a 93.6% viral suppression rate — up from 79.5% at enrollment.
93.6%
Viral suppression rate
79.5%
Rate at time of enrollment
156
Active members
51%
1-year retention rate
Background
A vital organization facing a hard problem.
AID Upstate plays a vital role in supporting around 1,500 patients in both urban and rural South Carolina — one of the highest HIV-burden states in the country. Their clients face a constellation of challenges: stigma, poverty, isolation, limited social support, substance use issues, transportation barriers, homelessness, and food insecurity.
Despite these obstacles, AID Upstate provides comprehensive clinical services — primary healthcare, specialized infectious disease care, behavioral therapy, limited substance abuse therapy, peer navigation, vaccinations, and medication access support. Clients benefit from onsite clinical and medical case management services, ensuring personalized, holistic care throughout their healthcare journey.
AID Upstate — Greenville, South Carolina
HIV care organization serving ~1,500 patients in urban and rural areas. Offers primary healthcare, specialized ID care, behavioral therapy, peer navigation, and medication access support.
Challenge
Clients without reliable communication fall out of care.
Clients who lack regular access to communication tend to experience a significantly higher likelihood of disengaging from care compared to those with consistent access. For many of AID Upstate’s clients — particularly those in rural areas, experiencing housing instability, or without smartphones — staying connected to their care team was genuinely difficult.
Establishing reliable communication channels became crucial to ensuring better retention and overall care outcomes for all clients. Without a way to reach people between appointments, case managers had no way to identify who was struggling, who had missed a dose, or who was close to falling out of care.
“
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PL Cares® has provided a reliable means of communication to previously isolated clients, enabling them to easily contact their medical care team and stay on top of their health.
Brian Thebodeau
Duty Case Manager · AID Upstate
Solution
With funding support from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), AID Upstate first implemented PL Cares® in late 2019 through ADAP rebate-generated funds dedicated to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Funding has continued through that source since.
The implementation addressed two populations: clients who lacked a smartphone entirely, and clients who had a phone but unreliable data service.
📱
Clients without a phone
AID Upstate provides a smartphone directly — removing the most fundamental barrier to digital engagement.
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Clients with a phone, no data
A monthly $55 data credit, earned by responding to more than 48% of daily check-ins in the preceding month.
The PL Cares program is offered to AID Upstate clients who do not have a consistent means of communication, and clients who need an additional tool to assist in their engagement with their overall healthcare. The incentive structure — data credits tied to check-in engagement — creates accountability while addressing a real material barrier.
“
It enables me to maintain contact with clients when they don’t answer their phones on a voice call. I can at least verify that they see my message and they know I am trying to reach them. It is proof of contact.
Shannan Kelly
Specialized Medical Case Manager · AID Upstate
By establishing a reliable means of communication, clients can more effectively stay engaged with their medical case managers — receiving access to medical care, ongoing support, guidance, and encouragement throughout their healthcare journey. This consistent connection allows case managers to stay informed about clients’ needs, concerns, and progress, aiding in tailored care plans and timely interventions.
Outcomes
A 14-point improvement in viral suppression.
To date, the viral suppression rate of the AID Upstate PL Cares cohort is 93.6% — compared to 79.5% at the time of enrollment among the 156 members who are currently active.
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WHT is proud to have partnered with AID Upstate for over 3 years to give their clients access to PL Cares® and deliver on evidence-based best practices that have resulted in an increase in the AID Upstate viral suppression rate.
Helen Boyd
COO · Warm Health Technology
79.5%
At enrollment
Viral suppression in AID Upstate PL Cares cohort vs. 79.5% at enrollment
93.6%
↑ 14.1 percentage points
Current viral suppression rate among 156 active PL Cares members
51%
1-year retention
Members who have used the app for more than one year / total enrolled since inception
Funding
How AID Upstate funded PL Cares.
AID Upstate’s implementation of PL Cares has been funded through South Carolina DHEC via ADAP rebate-generated funds dedicated to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. This funding pathway is available to many Ryan White-funded organizations and demonstrates that implementation costs — including device provision and monthly data credits — can be covered within existing grant structures.
Interested in understanding how your organization could fund PL Cares? Our grant writing toolkit includes sample budget justification language, funding stream maps, and evaluation plan templates ready for submission.