“Patients come to PPP and they’re treated with respect and love and they can get the care that they need no matter what. I think that has a huge impact.”
Dr. Jessica Meisner is the Medical Director at Prevention Point Philadelphia’s (PPP’s) Sana Clinic, which offers a full spectrum of medical care for patients living with HIV. During her residency and training, Dr. Meisner “fell in love” with working with people affected by substance use and HIV thanks to her excellent mentors and patients. However, she also observed that care for these patients was not always conducted effectively or compassionately.
“When I moved to Philly for a fellowship, I saw how poorly patients who use drugs were treated in the hospital. The withdrawal was not being dealt with appropriately. There was such a stigma and loss of respect towards these patients, and I felt like something needed to change.”
Dr. Meisner is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Division of Infectious Diseases and has been caring for people living with HIV for over a decade. At Sana Clinic, she creates the safe, non-judgmental environment that she thought was missing in hospital settings.
"We reassure patients that HIV is now easy to treat, and you can live a long healthy life."
PPP’s patient population has many competing priorities, including finding food, showers, safe drinking water, and other basic necessities. Because of this, Dr. Meisner keeps her appointment schedule flexible.
“We try to make treatment as accessible as possible. Meeting patients where they are is the key thing that they might not get at larger academic centers,” she explains.
Despite medical advances, HIV is still a “heartbreaking” diagnosis due to persisting stigma, according to Dr. Meisner.
“I have tissues in my office for a reason. I always tell my patients it’s a safe space to cry.”
She and the Sana Clinic team do everything possible to provide HIV education and lift the patient up immediately after their diagnosis.
“A lot of the first appointment is offering emotional support,” Dr. Meisner says. “I get to know the person, and help them understand they can trust me. We reassure patients that HIV is now easy to treat, and you can live a long healthy life.”
When a patient first begins HIV treatment, they start with a daily pill.
“Luckily medication has come a long way since 20 or 30 years ago, when people had to take multiple pills and there were a lot of side effects,” says Dr. Meisner. “Now it’s as easy as one pill once a day and it’s very easily tolerated.”
If a patient reduces their viral load enough, they might be able to switch to an injectable form of HIV medication that is administered just once every two months. Out of 66 total Sana Clinic patients, 25 of them are on injectable medications. In two and a half years, not one of them has missed an injection.
Sana Clinic also provides a medical case management team that offers individualized, wraparound care. Case managers do everything from sit in on doctor visits to help with referrals, housing applications, and food services.
“Our case managers accompany patients to the hospital sometimes and stay with them until midnight to help them get the care that they need... They go above and beyond,” says Dr. Meisner.
Ten years into this work, Dr. Meisner remains inspired by her patients.
“You meet someone at one of the lowest points in their lives, just after they are diagnosed with HIV. We get to be the ones to help them, and to witness their great victories on their medical journey,” she says. “It’s such an amazing thing to be a part of.”
In addition to full HIV primary care and case management, Sana Clinic provides pap smears, sexual healthcare, substance use treatment, infectious disease management, and gender-affirming care.
“Our patients are appreciative of what we do at PPP,” Dr. Meisner says. “I give patients hugs. They ask about my baby. It’s a very unique patient-doctor relationship. My time at PPP is the highlight of my week.”