Kentucky: Physician to Seek Federal Help for HIV/AIDS Clinics

The number of patients at the Ryan White-funded Bluegrass Care Clinic in Lexington has almost doubled since 2001, from 481 patients to 850. However, federal Ryan White funding has not kept pace and now the University of Kentucky, which provides BCC with office space and other resources, is facing state budget cuts.

There is only so much paring the clinic can do before patient care suffers, said Dr. Alice Thornton, an infectious-disease specialist at the clinic. On Thursday, she met with members of Congress to ask their intercession in helping BCC and other Ryan White clinics.

BCC offers comprehensive medical care and gets 50-100 new patients on average each year, mostly those who have no insurance or who have Medicaid or Medicare. Services are offered on a sliding scale based on income.

The clinic receives $688,000 from the federal government and just over $1 million from the university, and it is the only one of its kind in Central and Eastern Kentucky. BCC is one of four Ryan White clinics in Kentucky, and its patients come from 63 counties, some from several hours away. The other clinics are in Louisville, Paducah, and Henderson.

Though BCC needs another receptionist, the state has cut university funding, leaving it unable to afford to pay for one. The Lexington-Fayette Health Department used to provide BCC with four people to help with partner notification and STD prevention counseling. State budget cuts mean the department now sends only one worker, Thornton said.

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