A deal struck
between the Washington, D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Clinic
and officials in Virginia will keep the suburban
Whitman-Walker clinic in Arlington, Va., open through
the end of next year, The Washington Post reports.
The clinic, which serves about 1,400 HIV patients, was
set to close on October 1 as part of efforts by
cash-strapped Whitman-Walker to cut $2.5 million from its
annual budget. The agreement--reached between the
clinic, the city of Alexandria, Va., the Virginia
state health department, and Fairfax and Arlington
counties--will require Whitman-Walker to provide 25%
of the suburban clinic's budget gap through the
end of 2006, about $210,000, while the other agencies
will pay about $590,000. Most of
Whitman-Walker's contribution will come from a
$200,000 donation from a Northern Virginia benefactor.
The agreement
puts on hold an offer by the California-based AIDS
Healthcare Foundation to take over the suburban Virginia
clinic. It's unclear whether AHF will offer to take
the reins of the agency when the current agreement
ends in December 2006.
Whitman-Walker's HIV clinic in suburban Maryland is
still set to close on October 1, agency officials say.
The clinic, located in Takoma Park, Md., serves about
690 HIV patients. Maryland health officials say they are
working to place the clinic's clients with other HIV
treatment centers.