Virginia: Clinics Serving AIDS Patients With No Insurance Reopen DoorsJuly 2, 2003 Eastern Virginia Medical School, which signed a contract Tuesday with the city of Norfolk to care for uninsured AIDS patients in Hampton Roads, has begun reopening clinics that had been closed for nearly three months. Seven of eight EVMS clinics serving indigent HIV patients shut down in April because of a dispute over Ryan White CARE Act funds, which Norfolk oversees for the region. The move sent nearly 400 HIV-positive patients scrambling to find new doctors.
Adapted from:On Tuesday afternoon, EVMS reopened two clinics -- one on campus and another on Colley Avenue -- said Dr. Edward C. Oldfield III, who created the medical school's clinic system. A clinic at the Virginia Beach Health Department should reopen Monday, and one at the Portsmouth Health Department should open around July 14, according to EVMS officials. A fifth clinic at the Chesapeake Health Department, which had remained open but only offered AIDS patients primary care, has resumed providing specialty care. Now, however, rebuilding the clinic network, which provided "one-stop shopping" for patients to get all their care in one location, will be "extraordinarily hard," Oldfield said. One clinic lost a nurse, and some physicians had begun redirecting their practices. Medical school and city officials reached a tentative agreement about a month ago. Officials at the Health Resources and Services Administration, the federal agency that manages Ryan White dollars, approved the contract Friday. Norfolk's Ryan White program has failed to spend an average of $1 million in federal funds annually, while city officials estimate as many as 900 HIV patients in Hampton Roads are getting no medical care.
Back to other CDC news for July 2, 2003 Virginian-Pilot 07.02.03; Liz Szabo This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update. |