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Witnesses say DC has cut new HIV cases but long‑term care workforce reforms remain stalled
Summary
Advocates told the Committee on Health that DC’s 2025 epidemiology report shows sharp declines in new HIV diagnoses but persistent racial and age disparities, while reforms to unify CNA and home‑care credentials and medication‑aide approvals remain delayed a year after board endorsement.
Advocates and workforce representatives told the Committee on Health’s oversight roundtable that DC has made measurable progress reducing new HIV cases but that structural barriers keep Black residents and youth from the gains.
“According to DC’s 2025 EPI report, 192 individuals were newly diagnosed in 2024,” said Kristen Ewing, policy counsel at DC Appleseed, noting an “86 percent decline from the 2007 peak,” but she cautioned that “Black residents continue to bear a disproportionate burden” and that viral suppression is lower among youth. Ewing urged DC Health and HOSTA to create a public dashboard to track cases and focus interventions where the data show continued gaps.
On the long‑term care front, multiple witnesses said implementation of workforce reforms has lagged. Eric Bana of Homecare Partners described months of advisory committee work that produced a July endorsement but no published regulatory guidance: “In July, the Board of Nursing at their public meeting voted to endorse this plan,” he said, “and then nothing happened.” Witnesses said DC Health has not released draft rules or guidance for medication‑aide training providers, leaving employers and training schools uncertain about pathways into home health and CNA careers.
The testimony combined numbers and process concerns: advocates asked the committee to press DC Health for timelines, public rule drafts, and clear communications to training providers and the Board of Nursing so that the new unified credentials and medication‑aide endorsements move from policy into practice.
