AVOL Kentucky has been on the front lines of the HIV epidemic for almost four decades. The Lexington-based covered entity partner of Avita Pharmacy and Q Care Plus (both Avita Care Solutions companies) is committed to ending the stigma associated with HIV and, in the process, championing access to testing, prevention options, support services, and holistic treatment for some of the most underserved communities in the Bluegrass State.
We chatted with AVOL Kentucky CEO Jon Parker about the organization’s pivot over the last two years from an HIV-related social services agency to an organization that also offers HIV prevention and healthcare services directly to the community. Read on for his take on the keys to successfully scaling the non-profit amid funding challenges, a changing 340B drug discount program, and the crucial need to bridge healthcare barriers for rural and marginalized patients.
AVOL Kentucky has been on the front lines of the HIV epidemic for almost four decades.
Avita: AVOL Kentucky has been serving the community since the very beginning of the HIV epidemic. Tell me about how you’ve grown your mission during uncertain times for community health.
Jon Parker, CEO, AVOL Kentucky: AVOL has been at the front lines of the fight against HIV in the central Kentucky community since 1987. Up until just a few years ago, that mostly included offering HIV education, testing, and prevention supplies.
But since our partnership with Avita Pharmacy and Q Care Plus began in 2023, we’ve been able to expand our services to include providing PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) directly to our clients. Before the partnership, we referred clients to community providers for PrEP. That meant figuring out which of those providers could offer services to clients without insurance. It was a constantly changing list in a constantly changing environment.
For people taking PrEP or seeking to start, everyone’s journey will be different because their insurance, income, living situations, and healthcare issues differ. You really have to thread that needle to figure out exactly the right pathway to meet their needs. Now we can meet that capacity internally.
For people taking PrEP or seeking to start, everyone’s journey will be different because their insurance, income, living situations, and healthcare issues differ. You really have to thread that needle to figure out exactly the right pathway to meet their needs.
Avita: Was there a high learning curve in making the move to start providing PrEP directly in partnership with Avita Pharmacy and Q Care Plus?
Jon, AVOL Kentucky: The partnership between AVOL Kentucky, Q Care Plus, and Avita Pharmacy has brought great expertise to an agency that wasn’t used to being a medical provider. Before the partnership, we were a social service agency; we did the tests we were allowed to do. We had tried to start up a PrEP navigation program once before without a partner, and we didn’t feel it was very successful. We just didn’t know enough.
But from the get-go of our partnership with Q Care and Avita Pharmacy, they brought this expertise to the table. That’s because their teams include talented people whose goal is to make AVOL Kentucky successful in the community. I’ve been blown away by our ability to reach our team at Avita and get answers.
We’ve learned so much that in 2026, we hired our own in-house nurse practitioner to offer PrEP services. Now we’ve got the option of onsite care, which meets the needs of clients who would rather not do telehealth, and we still offer telehealth through Q Care Plus. Our goal is to meet our clients wherever they’re most comfortable.
We had tried to start up a PrEP navigation program once before without a partner, and we didn't feel it was very successful. We just didn't know enough. But from the get-go of our partnership with Q Care and Avita Pharmacy, they brought this expertise to the table.
AVOL helped turn one patient’s PrEP journey from awkward to awesome.
Avita: What led you to choose Avita and Q Care Plus as your partners in this initiative? Was a similarity in organizational core values important to your team?
Jon, AVOL Kentucky: The match-up is fantastic because team members at Avita Pharmacy and Q Care Plus share our values. Together, we’re trying to reach folks who might not even realize they have access to PrEP services. With Avita and Q Care Plus’ support, we’re able to conduct outreach and show people that there really is an easy roadmap to getting on PrEP.
Q Care Plus’ systems are so well built, and Avita has a nationwide network of pharmacies. When a patient calls Avita Pharmacy, they can talk to a real person, and those folks are very compassionate and sensitive. You just don’t see that very much anymore.
You have to understand; we’re helping some of the hardest clients to serve. They may not always understand how healthcare works or feel comfortable talking to healthcare professionals. But Avita makes sure every team member they hire has that level of compassion for patients.
With Avita and Q Care Plus’ support, we’re able to conduct outreach and show people that there really is an easy roadmap to getting on PrEP.
Avita: How has the partnership helped AVOL Kentucky remove healthcare access barriers for patients in more remote areas?
Jon, AVOL Kentucky: Kentucky is a rural state. Our high-population areas are in Louisville and Lexington, and then Northern Kentucky, which is actually a part of Cincinnati. But the remainder of the state has 120 counties that are really remote. People often need to travel to an urban center to get healthcare services.
At AVOL Kentucky, we’ve long been responsible for a continuum of HIV services across the eastern half of our state. But prior to our partnership with Avita and Q Care Plus, I never felt we could give some of the more remote areas of Kentucky the attention they deserved.
Since the partnership began, the number of patients we have picked up from the more remote or rural areas of Kentucky has been impressive. We hear patients say they’re so happy they didn’t have to travel. And in rural areas, people can be a bit leery to go to a clinic because everybody knows everybody. So, the option to get PrEP via telehealth has been a real opportunity for them.
Since the partnership began, the number of patients we have picked up from the more remote or rural areas of Kentucky has been impressive. The option to get PrEP via telehealth has been a real opportunity for them.
Avita: AVOL Kentucky recently finished its first HRSA audit as a covered entity. Tell me about that experience, and what helped you all navigate it successfully.
Jon, AVOL Kentucky: We were notified in February 2024 that we would have a HRSA audit. From the start, we were in contact with Avita’s 340B team. They helped us focus on ensuring everything was in place and worked with us throughout the entire process. It’s an intense experience, but having Avita’s 340B team there to provide all the information we needed allowed us to collaborate on the components. Fortunately, we passed our audit with no findings, which was a big win. We were thrilled with that.
At AVOL Kentucky, we consider ourselves to be a learning organization. When you find something out, you make it happen, change it, and make it better. I feel like Avita is like that, too.
At AVOL Kentucky, we consider ourselves to be a learning organization. When you find something out, you make it happen, change it, and make it better. I feel like Avita is like that, too.
