Whitman-Walker Clinic To Focus On Primary Care, Continue Commitment To HIV/AIDS Programs

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 18 Jan 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Officials for the Washington, D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Clinic on Thursday said the clinic has stabilized its finances and plans to begin delivering more primary medical care, while still focusing on HIV/AIDS-related programs, the Washington Post reports (Levine, Washington Post, 1/12). WWC, which in 2005 served about 7,000 HIV-positive people, experienced a series of budget and funding problems that contributed to the organization's financial problems, including more than $700,000 in late reimbursements owed to the clinic by the District of Columbia Department of Health and the housing agency of Prince George's County, Md., according to WWC Interim Executive Director Roberta Geidner-Antoniotti (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/22/05). The clinic's board recently approved a "fundamental shift in operations" to raise more revenue from clients with private insurance, according to the Post. The clinic's fiscal year 2006 budget of $25.6 million is $5 million less than the FY 2005 budget. In addition, the clinic in 2005 closed its Maryland centers and reduced its staff by 30 people (Washington Post, 1/12). Geidner-Antoniotti said, "We believe this model will place the clinic firmly on the road to long-term financial stability and enable us to serve a broader clientele more efficiently and effectively," adding, "If anything, this new model will enable us to better serve [our] constituencies" (Adler, Washington Business Journal, 1/12).

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