COE Support for Community Organization Research Engagement (COE-SCORE)

CAN Community Health is a nationwide nonprofit health system headquartered in Tampa, Florida, providing comprehensive services to approximately 33,000+ people at risk for or living with HIV (PLWH), including 21,000 in Florida alone. Founded in 1991 as the Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC), the organization was built on an unwavering commitment to dignity and care for all. Over the years, CCC evolved into the Community AIDS Network (CAN), and in 2017, was renamed CAN Community Health to reduce stigma and better reflect its expanded mission.

At its core, the mission of CAN Community Health is to inspire and contribute to the health and well-being of those affected by HIV, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections by providing the best care through outreach, integrated clinical practice, advocacy, education, and research. Guided by this mission, CAN has developed a broad range of services that address not only medical treatment but also the social and emotional needs of the communities it serves.

CAN’s core services include HIV testing and care, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and the testing and treatment of other sexually transmitted infections. Medical services extend to both acute and long-term management of HIV, primary care for PLWH, patient education, participation in clinical trials, and psychiatric services. Many CAN locations also offer dental care, including oral hygiene education, preventive care, emergency treatment, and restorative dental services. To ensure greater convenience and access, many clinics include in-house pharmacies, as well as partnerships with community pharmacies, allowing patients to obtain prescriptions during their visits, saving them both time and money.

Recognizing that health and wellness go beyond physical care, CAN provides comprehensive mental health counseling as an integral part of its services. Licensed mental health counselors offer individual, group, and couples therapy to address the unique challenges faced by PLWH, including coping with stigma, maintaining emotional health, adopting safer practices to prevent transmission, and reducing the risk of acquiring additional infections. For CAN, counseling is not an add-on service but a standard of care, reflecting the organization’s philosophy of treating the whole person.

This patient-centered approach also extends to case management and support programs, which aim to remove barriers to care. Case managers assist patients with determining eligibility for state and federal programs, coordinating referrals to essential community resources such as housing assistance, and serving as insurance liaisons to help patients navigate complex systems of coverage. CAN’s model of comprehensive care ensures that patients receive coordinated support across the physical, emotional, and social dimensions of health.

In addition to providing care, CAN is deeply invested in advancing scientific knowledge and innovation. The organization encourages patient participation in clinical trials, including those related to PrEP and emerging treatments, and partners with research-intensive institutions such as Moffitt Cancer Center. Many of CAN’s medical providers are active in research, bringing cutting-edge expertise and contributing to the field of HIV care and prevention.

Through this integrated model of clinical practice, research, advocacy, and support, CAN Community Health continues to deliver on its mission of improving health and empowering wellness for individuals and communities affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.  

Feeding Tampa Bay is among the largest hunger-relief charities in Florida. With a goal of creating a hunger-free community, Feeding Tampa Bay provides more than 46 million meals per year through its food pantry distribution sites and 3 Trinity Café locations, which are full-service restaurants open 365 days a year for food-insecure clients. Feeding Tampa Bay partners with over 400 community organizations to provide food and resources at neighborhood access sites across a 10-county catchment area in West Central Florida. These mobile sites provide services to more than 127,000 food insecure clients annually. In addition to addressing food insecurity, Feeding Tampa Bay provides clients with holistic support such as job training through its FRESHForce program, access to mobile and on-site medical services in partnership with local healthcare providers, assistance with applying for housing, and financial counseling to gain access to benefits like SNAP and WIC.

In 2020, Feeding Tampa Bay launched the Food Rx program, a food prescription program, in collaboration with local healthcare providers to fulfill specific dietary needs of clients with diet-related medical conditions. In early 2024, Feeding Tampa Bay opened a 210,000 square foot food distribution center in the heart of Tampa, more than doubling its fresh and perishable food storage capacity. This new central distribution site is equipped with a state-of-the-art production and training kitchen that can provide up to 5,000 fresh meals per day, educational space, and onsite medical services. The expanded space enables Feeding Tampa Bay to provide 75 million more meals per year, moving it closer to its mission of eradicating food insecurity in the region.

Health Choice Network, Inc. (HCN) is the first funded health center–controlled network and a nationally recognized leader in advancing care delivery for underserved communities through shared services and health information technology. Serving health centers across the country, HCN strengthens the safety net by providing essential financial, managed care, billing, strategic, and health IT services that improve operational efficiency, care coordination, and patient outcomes.

Through its strategic partnership with Epic, HCN delivers Epic Powered by HCN, an exclusive electronic health record (EHR) model designed specifically for federally qualified health centers. This FQHC-only model reduces cost and complexity while enabling health centers to adopt a fully integrated, enterprise-level EHR platform. HCN’s proven model enhances data-driven decision-making, expands access to high-quality care, and supports measurable improvements in health outcomes for medically underserved populations.

HCN Research has over thirty active projects from multiple funders including NIH, Florida Department of Health, and private foundations. These include capacity building projects that strengthen FQHC’s research infrastructure, interventions, qualitative and mixed methods studies, secondary data analyses, and research data feeds provided to partners. This includes a 5-year, $6M Addressing Food Insecurity in Communities grant, which HCN was awarded in September of 2023 by the NIH to develop structural interventions that address social need.

HCN is the evaluator on multiple FQHC and non-profit led projects. Topics of evaluations include breast and cervical cancer prevention, geriatric workforce enhancement, and behavioral health intervention targeting substance use and HIV prevention.

HCN Research strengths include program evaluation, quantitative research methods such as multivariable logistic regression, GIS mapping, survey development, and implementation, patient and other community health center stakeholder engagement, qualitative research methods including focus groups and key informant interviews, and intervention studies.

YMCA of the Suncoast: YMCA of the Suncoast is a leading 4-star charity and 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. YMCA of the Suncoast serves more than 100,000 men, women, and children through 6 branch locations across Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, and Citrus counties and offers six evidence-based chronic disease programs. Among these programs is the YMCA Survivorship and Wellness Program Powered by Moffitt, which is a no-cost, 12-week, research-based physical activity and well-being program designed to help adult cancer survivors reclaim their total health. The collaboration between YMCA of the Suncoast and Moffitt was established to provide the latest Moffitt-developed, evidence-based interventions and information to members of the program, and to collaborate on research projects that are specifically designed to improve wellness and reduce health disparities throughout the community. 

YMCA of the Suncoast has actively partnered with Moffitt on several pilot research projects and one of these pilots – a project that evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a pickleball intervention among cancer survivors – provided critical preliminary data for a large 4-year grant funded by the American Cancer Society (PI: Nathan Parker). In addition, Dr. Sylvia Crowder led a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of a cooking demonstration and healthy eating intervention delivered within YMCA Survivorship and Wellness Program Powered by Moffitt. The primary goal of the NOURISH Study (NutritiOUs fRuIts and veggieS to improve Health) was to improve nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, and confidence in preparing healthy meals at home.

Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA: Founded in 1889, the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA is a cause-driven 4-star charity, strengthening Hillsborough and East Pasco communities for 135 years through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the organization, 16 facilities and numerous program sites engage 281,000+ men, women and children — regardless of age, income or background — to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the community’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support our neighbors. With a long-standing presence in the community, the Tampa Y empowers families to live their healthiest, most fulfilling lives, offering six evidence-based health interventions. Among these programs is the YMCA Survivorship and Wellness Program Powered by Moffitt, which is a no-cost, 12-week, research-based physical activity and well-being program designed to help adult cancer survivors reclaim their total health. The collaboration between Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA and Moffitt was established to provide the latest Moffitt-developed, evidence-based interventions and information to members of the program, and to collaborate on research projects that are specifically designed to improve cancer survivorship and wellness and reduce health disparities throughout the community. The Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA is also partnering on Dr. Nathan Parker’s new American Cancer Society-funded grant designed to evaluate a pickleball intervention among cancer survivors.