California: Sonoma County's HIV Clinic Likely to Close

The economic downturn has the decades-old system of HIV care in Sonoma County "dismantling right before our eyes," said Lisa Albertson, chair of the County Commission on AIDS.

Among the possible casualties is a county HIV clinic in downtown Santa Rosa that serves about 500 clients. Public health officials are exploring alternatives for those seen there now, including referrals to one of two local federally funded health clinics.

The Santa Rosa clinic is facing a loss of state funding of about $340,000 for the fiscal year that began in July. At the same time, its federal funding of about $1 million is jeopardized because it does not serve at least 2,000 people who were first diagnosed in Sonoma County. The county's HIV program saw a loss of $444,000 in state sales tax and vehicle license fees.

Officials at the possible alternative sites for care, the Southwest Community Health Center and West County Health Centers, expressed concerns about absorbing additional patients.

"How many patients are we talking about?" says Southwest Community Health Center CEO Naomi Fuchs. "What kind of specialized resources would we need both in medical expertise and case-management resources?"

West County Health Centers, whose HIV program is older than the county's own, currently sees about one-third of the county's patients. "If we were to absorb another 100 patients into our practice, we would need to have additional resources," said Mary Szecsey, executive director of the center.

The federally funded clinics are an attractive option because they "have a higher rate of reimbursement and they have a lower cost," said Sonoma County Commission on AIDS member Ron Karp, though he acknowledged that shifting the county patients to them might further strain their resources.

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