Jun 26, 2009  |  By: Jeffrey Lewis  | COMMENTS     

THIS MONTH WE celebrate and remember 40 years of gay rights and the Stonewall riots in New York City on June 28, 1969. America has grown and evolved since. Here in Washington, D.C., the Whitman-Walker Clinic has grown, too, becoming a medical home for all HIV/AIDS patients living in the District of Columbia and in some cases beyond. Whitman-Walker has grown with America to help ensure the most disenfranchised of Washingtonians will find that hope, help and home triumph over fear, helplessness and homelessness.

A comprehensive primary care environment amplifies our important medical care work and underscores what is needed. There are many people and community leaders to thank, and I will single out two high on this list: Don Blanchon, Whitman-Walker Clinic’s CEO, and Council member David Catania. An unlikely alliance to some? Maybe. But one whose collective passion will ultimately make health care services for HIV/AIDS patients more affordable, available and accessible.

The health priorities of the LGBT population face us all. For Whitman-Walker, restricting care to the LGBT population disqualifies it for millions in federal aid. Far from decreasing resources available to the LGBT population, helping others actually increases the service options.

IN ITS 21-YEAR history, Whitman-Walker’s evolution from an old model of addressing the needs of a gay white male population to becoming the medical home for the broader LGBT population underscores the passion and determination of both Blanchon and Catania. Both recognize that clients with HIV/AIDS are living longer and more medically complicated lives. This means we treat the entire family life cycle. A single, one stop medical home such as Whitman-Walker will be a national model.

Catania has a strong interest in the Clinic. His interest, dedication and long advocacy on behalf of those living with HIV/AIDS has helped to ensure that government resources were available to fund Whitman-Walker’s programs. Public health is a sacred trust of elected officials. Catania’s dedication to the issues is admired and respected, yet it does not mean we need always agree. Honest disagreements are opportunities for statesmanship and vision. The Whitman-Walker board is pursuing a road the LGBT and straight populations can and must build together.

We also must respond to how the economy affects treatment. Patients with HIV who are worried about their finances, such as paying bills or having enough money to care for those with HIV, won’t always follow through with antiretroviral therapy prescriptions. This increases HIV drug resistance and hastens the disease. That is bad for everyone.

Federal funding programs require facilities treat all. If that’s the price of getting the money to provide medicine to those with HIV/AIDS, then so be it. Whitman-Walker must continue to save lives. I believe it is appropriate we continue to follow our path. Sadly, in the wealthiest nation, many HIV-positive clients are relegated to long program waiting lists.

AS WE CELEBRATE the courageous acts of those at Stonewall, we should encourage a new alliance between Whitman-Walker and Council member Catania. The District of Columbia has a myriad of HIV/AIDS programs serving diverse populations — all in need. Millions are being spent, yet no single comprehensive primary care or funding strategy guarantees funds are spent for intended purposes or to maximize the value of each public investment.

Working together, Catania and Blanchon will represent today’s new definition of inclusiveness by moving from lofty aspirations and a desire for good to create a new test for “appropriateness” — by launching a District-wide analysis to create one comprehensive HIV/AIDS strategy, guaranteeing that all HIV/AIDS funds flow through one source and one entity, thereby maximizing the value of each HIV/AIDS dollar being spent. 

Catania helped build a strong health care program for District residents. Blanchon created a strong and financially viable path for Whitman-Walker. Now, as a community, straight and gay, we move that common agenda forward.

Stonewall taught us many things, but the one underlying theme that should resonate with each of us is the nexus between inclusiveness and respect. Today, we push aside the veil of the past, opening wide a window to the future for all Washingtonians.