About the Southeast AETC
Advancing HIV care across the Southeast with expert training, regional partnerships, and lifelong learning.
Providing HIV/AIDS Education & Training Since 1987
The Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center (SE AETC) is one of eight regional AETCs across the country. Encompassing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, the SE AETC offers comprehensive, collaborative educational opportunities designed to increase the size and strength of the HIV clinical workforce, improve outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum, and reduce the number of new HIV infections.
The SE AETC has been located at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) since September 2015. Prior to that, VUMC was the home of the Tennessee AETC. After receiving the award from HRSA in 2015 to be the central office for the SE AETC, we quickly partnered with institutions across the Southeast to advance the AETC mission in the region.
The SE AETC also provides self-paced learning, webcasts, coaching for capacity building, and live didactic and interactive events.
Our Region
The Southeast has a population of over 67 million people living in eight states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
67M+
people living in our eight states
323,100
people in the Southeast with HIV
22.74%
of People with HIV (PWH) in the US
51%
of new US HIV diagnoses in 2018 were in the South
1,210
rural health clinics
132
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients
Our eight states
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
According to the CDC, an estimated 323,100 people in the Southeast live with HIV (both diagnosed and undiagnosed), and the average rate of new diagnoses in 2021 was 16.8 per 100,000 population. The SE AETC’s eight states represents 20.4% of the US population and 22.74% of People with HIV (PWH). The region is also home to 837 hospitals, 1,210 rural health clinics, 255 federally qualified healthcare centers (FQHCs) and “look-alike” centers, 132 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients, and two of three Historically Black Medical Schools in the US.
The South has the highest rate of new infections in the country as well as some of the worst health metrics. According to the CDC, of the 37,968 new HIV diagnoses in the US in 2018, 51% were in the South. HIV rates per 100,000 population were generally highest in the South with two of the three highest rate states in the Southeast – Florida and Georgia. In 2018, there were 15,820 deaths among adults and adolescents with diagnosed HIV in the US and nearly half (47%) of those deaths were in the South.
The Southeast states experience above-average percentages of people without insurance coverage. Though the uninsured rate decreased between 2021 and 2022, it is expected to rise again due to the unwinding of Medicaid’s pandemic-related continuous enrollment in which millions of people will no longer receive Medicaid coverage. Six SE states have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and low-income residents may neither qualify for public coverage nor be able to afford private coverage.
The AETC program is the only U.S. network of HIV clinical experts and educators providing tailored education programs, consultation, and technical assistance (TA) to all healthcare teams and systems. With their combination of national reach and local presence, the AETCs are agile and uniquely positioned to address the needs of providers rapidly and efficiently to provide optimal care for the community.
State Contacts
Alabama
Terilaine Wheeler
Florida
Taryn Buckley
Georgia
Valerie Diaz
Kentucky
Scot Mattingly
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Qunisha Sanders
Southeast AETC Central Office
Jennifer Burdge
Part of a Nationwide Network of 8 Regional AETCs
Mission
Through comprehensive healthcare workforce education, clinical consultation, and technical assistance, the AETC Program enhances the quality of HIV care outcomes for people with HIV and communities disproportionately impacted by HIV across the United States and its territories.
Vision
To transform HIV care by strengthening systems of education, consultation, and support–advancing a unified, interdisciplinary workforce equipped to meet the evolving needs of patients and clinicians nationwide.
About the National AETC Program
The AETC Program is the clinical training and support arm of HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Its mission is to enhance HIV prevention and care in the United States through educational and capacity-building support of the HIV clinical workforce.
Resources
- A National HIV Curriculum (NHC) offering free CME, CNE, and CE.
- A National Clinical Consultation Center providing phone-based expert case consultation in HIV management and related topics.
- A National AETC Support Center with online resources and training opportunities.
- Special Projects and initiatives to address workforce gaps.
Regional Centers
The Southeast AETC (SE AETC) is part of a nationwide network of 8 regional AETCs founded by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) to train healthcare providers and disseminate rapidly changing information about HIV/AIDS.
Explore our programs & services
Programs
Interprofessional Education (IPE)
Empowering future HIV providers with collaborative education and clinical mentorship to meet rising care demands.
Practice Transformation (PT)
Transforming HIV care with hands-on training and measurable outcomes.
Southeast HIV Accelerated Response for Ending the Epidemic (SHARE)
SHARE was created by the SE AETC to address the specific aims of the national EHE plan.
Services
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Empowering HIV care teams with expert training and CE credits to elevate outcomes for people with HIV.
Preceptorships
We offer clinical preceptorship opportunities to any interested HIV providers.
Technical Assistance
The AETC Program offers tailored training, technical assistance (TA), and capacity-building assistance.