Posts
Rochester-based AIDS Care is working
out the logistics of adding a primary care clinic to serve the wider LGBT
community.
“We’re seriously looking at opening
up an LGBT-friendly practice,” said Jay Rudman, AIDS Care’s president and CEO.
“We’re hoping that if it’s feasible, it’s something we can do early next year.”
Details to be addressed include
securing $2 million in start-up funding, arranging for reimbursements and
determining the resources necessary for a range of LGBT medical and social
service needs. “We don’t want to do this halfway or be unsuccessful,” Rudman
said.
The clinic has been part of AIDS
Care’s strategic plan for a few years, said Dr. William Valenti, senior vice
president for organizational advancement. “My style is to just charge ahead,”
he said. “We’ll raise dust and we’ll figure it out as we go along.”
AIDS Care, which was formed by the
2010 merger of AIDS Rochester and AIDS Community Health Center, will continue
its HIV/AIDS services. In addition to specialized care, the clinic would
address what the federal government has identified as disparities in access to
and quality of health care for minorities.
“So many of our community members
are afraid to come out to their doctor,” said Scott Fearing, program director
at the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley. An understanding of cultural
differences in health care is vital, said Fearing, who leads workshops on the
subject for professionals across the country.
In an online AIDS Care survey
earlier this year, 93 percent of respondents said it is important to have a
doctor who is open and supportive; however, 25 percent said they were not out
to their doctor.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
