After 30 years, ActionAIDS has a new name.
The organization has changed its name to ActionWellness and is expanding its mission beyond HIV/AIDS care to include people with other chronic illnesses and seniors.
The changes were announced in a press conference Monday morning at the organization’s office at 12th and Arch streets.
ActionWellness executive director Kevin Burns said no current programs will be curtailed by the changes. The organization has hired two full-time case managers to lead delivery of services for the new target populations.
“We’re not anticipating any cutbacks in services,” Burns said, “and because of this change we think it will open up opportunities for funding that we couldn’t access before. So we’re looking to grow, to hire more staff and offer more services.”
Burns said the rebranding and mission shifts originated after the agency undertook a year-long strategic-planning process in 2014.
“We went into it asking hard questions, but we worked hard to try not to imagine what the outcome would be,” Burns said.
Through focus groups and surveys, the board spoke with clients, volunteers, staff and donors to gather input on the direction in which the agency should be headed
“We spent a lot of time asking questions, listening and gathering data. What became clear at the end of that year was that, with AIDS becoming a manageable chronic disease, it is not likely to continue to be funded in a silo,” he said.
The rollout of the Affordable Care Act, Burns noted, could mean changes for the future of Ryan White funding, comprehensive federal money distributed for HIV/AIDS care.
To ensure full funding, he added, many agencies are broadening the scope of their target populations. That plan seemed viable, Burns noted, as the agency has long addressed needs of clients beyond their HIV/AIDS care.
“Our clients told us that what they valued most about the work we do with them is that we work with the whole person,” he said. “We support and offer resources for clients with diabetes, heart disease, with cancer. In a sense, the name ActionAIDS didn’t cover the full scope of what we’ve already been doing for many years.”
Burns said the board also discussed the idea that broadening the agency’s focus could be seen as a creative HIV-prevention strategy.
“Over our 30 years, we’ve learned a lot about the importance of access to primary care and health-care services. Changing our name and expanding our target population could engage new populations of people with other chronic illnesses who are HIV-positive but who don’t know it or might be at risk.”
The former name also was at times a barrier, Burns added, as clients essentially had to disclose their HIV status when discussing getting services through the organization.
Burns said it was with those factors in mind that the board decided to make the change.
“At the end of that first year, the board had to consider if we wanted to run the risk of becoming irrelevant, getting smaller, not being able to meet the needs of people with HIV or take the risk and expand our target population, update our mission and go for it. And we went for it.”
Health-care marketing firm Pulse CX donated more than $100,000 in rebranding work, an effort that involved additional focus groups and site visits at all five of the agency’s locations.
Burns said the resulting logo and other aspects of the brand meld well with the mission of ActionWellness.
“When I first saw the logo, I thought, It feels like a hug. And that’s what we want to be. We want to be welcoming. The logo also suggests moving forward, and our tagline, ‘Putting good health into motion,’ suggests that as well.”
For more information, visit www.actionwellness.org.