The primary goal of the NC-LINK: Systems Linkage and Access to HIV Care in North Carolina, part of the Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS), is to increase the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) engaged in consistent care by creating a system of linkages along the HIV Continuum of Care in North Carolina. This will be accomplished through improved coordination between HIV testing and HIV care providers; creating integrated NC HIV data sources and regional data repositories; testing and linkage within the sexual networks of high risk persons; and a new statewide nurse-led team of bridge counselors whose role is to rapidly link newly-diagnosed HIV patients into care and reengage patients who fall out of care.
