The South Central AETC is very excited to launch their newest site, in partnership with Access Health Louisiana (AHL). AHL makes up the largest network of Federally Qualified Health Centers in the state, with more than 90 providers. Together they see over 41,000 individual patients each year, uniting behind a simple yet powerful mission: to improve the health of the people we serve.
The AHL AETC will continue to offer a mix of in-person and webinar-based trainings, preceptorships, and technical assistance. They will also build upon their specific areas of expertise, namely, utilizing data to target their outreach, utilizing technology to build impactful trainings, and continuing to focus on the Social Determinants of Health.
Social determinants are aspects such as poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, and high rates of incarceration, factors which not only challenge an individual’s access to essential healthcare needs, but which combine to create consistent levels of stress and increased incidents of trauma. These have been shown consistently in modern research, in and of themselves, to create significant inequity in health outcomes, and are particularly relevant to the practice of effective HIV Medicine.
Please reach out to discuss any of your HIV training needs. We would be more than happy to help.
Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Dery completed his Master's Degree in Public Health, focusing on poverty in resource poor countries. Following his completion of medical school, Dr. Dery went on to complete his residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University, where his research and medical focus was on the influence that poverty has on health.
After completing his training in infectious diseases at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Dr. Dery joined the Tulane faculty, where he focuses on researching and addressing the social determinants of health, particularly as they relate to HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Dery is the Medical Director of the Ryan White funded T-Cell Clinic, (featured in TIME Magazine), which has been on the forefront of instituting innovations in HIV research and care into its practice. He is proud of the fact that the T-Cell Clinic was one of the first in the South to prescribe PrEP and to begin immediately starting people diagnosed with HIV on anti-retroviral medications.
Recognizing that 20% of people living with HIV are unaware of their HIV diagnosis, Dr. Dery has also worked to develop new HIV testing strategies, including hosting music concerts where band members are tested live on stage. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the radio station, 102.3 WHIV-FM, whose programming is dedicated to human rights and social justice.
Lizzy is the Program Manager for The South-Central Aids Education & Training Center affiliated with Access Health Louisiana. She recently graduated with a master’s in social work from Tulane University in 2020. Lizzy completed a certificate in Disaster and Collective Trauma while there. In 2018, she graduated with B.A.s in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies, as well as a minor in Social Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship, from Tulane University. She previously worked at the AETC as an intern in undergrad and again in graduate school.
Smith graduated in 2021 from Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with her Bachelors of Science in Public Health.
Her undergraduate education focused on social determinants of health and health policy. She has previously worked with New Orleans nonprofit organizations in event management and within clinical settings with children on the autism spectrum.
She is now serving as the program coordinator for the AIDS Education and Training Center. She is passionate about improving and enabling equitable health care, specifically through the fields of infectious disease, maternal health and health policy. Email Smith to connect.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Under grant number U1OHA33225 (South Central AIDS Education and Training Center). It was awarded to the University of New Mexico. No percentage of this project was financed with non-governmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.