Missouri: St. Louis Clinic That Treats Sexually Transmitted Diseases Will Stay Open

A St. Louis Health Department STD clinic that treats about 90 people a day will not close after all. Closing the clinic had been under consideration for several weeks as the department sought to cut more than $1.5 million from its budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The Health Board learned recently that it no longer has to pay $422,000 for nine employees who work in lead poisoning prevention; that expense has been transferred to the Building Division. Armed with this information, the Health Board met Friday to formalize a budget that is being presented to Budget Director Frank Jackson on Monday. However, the budget is still $500,000 over the $8 million the office was allocated. "You come to a point where you say, this is all we can do," said Patrick Cacchione, a board member. "It's a minimalist budget as is." Earlier, Jackson said he would have to see the budget before changing the allocation amount.

The board decided to keep the clinic open out of concerns that shifting its services to community clinics before educating the public about the change could lead to fewer people in treatment and more STD infections. To save about $400,000, however, the board does plan to close the department's immunization clinic; other community health centers will offer childhood vaccinations and immunizations for hepatitis A and B.

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