Since
the
Whitman-Walker
Clinic
announced
last
week
that
it
will
close
its
clinics
in
suburban
Maryland
and
Northern
Virginia,
community
providers,
advocates
and
elected
officials
have
been
scrambling
to
ensure
there
is
no
gap
in
services
for
the
clinics’
estimated
600
clients.
Whitman-Walker
decided
to
close
its
two
satellite
clinics,
as
well
as
eliminate
its
food
bank,
a
mental
health
program
and
two
housing
programs
for
clients
with
HIV
and
substance
abuse
problems
following
a
financial
crisis
triggered,
in
part,
by
shortfalls
in
fund-raising
efforts.
Shutting
down
the
clinics
will
save
about
$920,000
a
year,
according
to
Whitman-Walker
spokesperson
Kim
Mills.
Officials
expressed
concern
about
clients
—
particularly
those
who
are
uninsured
—
encountering
gaps
in
services
because
of
the
impending
suburban
office
closures.
In
2004,
about
83
percent
of
the
Maryland
clinic’s
clients
were
uninsured
and
almost
3
percent
were
on
Medicaid.
From
January
to
June
1
of
this
year,
in
the
Northern
Virginia
clinic,
188
medical
patients
were
uninsured
and
20
received
Medicaid,
clinic
officials
said.
Eighteen
clients
in
mental
health
services
were
uninsured.
Mark
Langlais,
executive
director
of
the
Maryland-based
Community
Clinic
Inc.,
said
that
gaps
in
services
tend
to
be
more
common
with
the
uninsured
even
when
the
providers
are
constant.
“These
are
uninsured
people
with
complicated
medical
needs,”
he
said.
Langlais,
like
other
providers
in
Maryland
and
Virginia
that
the
Blade
spoke
with,
said
the
closings
would
stretch
an
already
taut
system.
“We
can
see
some
of
the
[Whitman-Walker]
patients,”
Langlais
said,
adding
that
his
clinic
is
a
primary
care
provider
and
does
not
specialize
in
infectious
diseases.
“My
clinic
doesn’t
have
unlimited
resources,”
he
said.
“We’re
a
safety
net.”
The
clinic
shutdowns
compound
problems
health
providers
in
Northern
Virginia
already
face,
said
Sue
Rowland,
executive
director
of
Virginia
Organizations
Responding
to
AIDS.
She
said
that
this
past
year
some
primary
care
providers
had
to
start
waiting
lists.
“This
is
just
piling
on,”
she
said.
“It’s
been
a
very
long
time
since
providers
felt
those
kinds
of
pressures.
If
we’re
having
difficulty
with
basic
services,
something
has
gone
awry.”
Andrew
Oatman
of
the
Northern
Virginia
AIDS
Ministry
agreed
that
the
clinic
closings
will
put
additional
pressure
on
struggling
agencies.
“The
demand
for
services
is
greater
than
the
amount
we
can
provide,”
he
said.
“We
will
try
to
lessen
the
crisis,
[but]
I
don’t
think
we’re
going
to
be
able
to
stop
it.”
To
try
to
ensure
there
is
no
gap
in
care
for
Whitman-Walker
clients,
task
forces
will
be
formed
in
Maryland
and
Northern
Virginia,
Mills
said.
In
Maryland,
the
focus
is
on
trying
to
find
other
agencies
to
take
on
Whitman-Walker
patients
and
services.
In
Northern
Virginia,
officials
hope
to
keep
the
services
in
one
location
rather
than
spinning
them
off
to
other
providers.
Joe
Santone,
director
of
the
Whitman-Walker
Clinic
in
Northern
Virginia,
said
that
most
clients
have
been
supportive
but
want
to
know
what
services
they
can
count
on.
The
goal
right
now
is
to
ensure
continuity
in
treatment,
he
said.
“We
want
to
make
sure
whether
we’re
here
or
not
our
clients
are
served,”
he
said.
Gay
D.C.
Councilmember
Jim
Graham
(D-Ward
1),
and
Jay
Fisette,
the
gay
chair
of
the
Arlington
County
Board,
along
with
Whitman-Walker
staff
—
respectively,
the
former
director
of
Whitman-Walker
and
the
clinic’s
Northern
Virginia
facility
—
are
working
with
local
health
officials
and
community
providers
to
ensure
no
one
falls
through
the
cracks.
Their
effectiveness
will
largely
depend
on
time.
Whitman-Walker
said
the
clinics
will
close
in
anywhere
from
30
to
120
days.
Mills
said
Whitman-Walker
is
“committed
to
try
to
hold
on
for
120
days
for
the
task
forces
to
do
their
jobs.”
The
task
forces
need
four
months
to
be
successful,
insists
Fisette,
who
is
serving
on
the
Virginia
committee.
“It
can’t
be
done
overnight,”
he
said.
Sixty
to
70
percent
of
the
Northern
Virginia
clinic
is
funded
by
grants,
so
he
is
asking
donors
and
the
jurisdiction
to
“step
up”
to
help
secure
the
money
needed,
Fisette
said.
The
cuts
will
hit
Arlington
especially
hard
because
half
of
the
clinic’s
patients
are
from
Arlington,
he
said.
The
Arlington
County
Health
Department
does
not
provide
primary
medical
care,
compounding
the
impact,
he
said.
But
it’s
not
only
the
medical
care
that
will
be
lost,
it’s
also
the
services
specifically
designed
for
gay,
lesbian
and
transgendered
people,
he
said.
Other
officials
are
also
frantically
trying
to
get
what
the
clinics
need
most:
money.
Graham
said
he
is
very
close
to
securing
emergency
funds
but
could
not
elaborate
on
how
the
monies
would
be
divided.
Congressman
Jim
Moran
(D-Va.)
told
the
Blade
he
plans
to
introduce
a
$500,000
grant
in
the
D.C.
Appropriations
bill
that
he
hopes
will
be
seed
money
for
the
Virginia
clinic.
“They’re
not
going
to
keep
it
open
...
