L.A.’s
Carl Bean House closes

Los Angeles's Carl Bean House, a 24-hour HIV nursing care facility, has been closed due to funding cuts by the county's board of supervisors. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which managed the Carl Bean House plus 10 other HIV clinics in Southern California, was forced to shutter the facility after county supervisors voted to slash funding for the nursing care center to $550,000, down from more than $1.7 million one year ago. The Carl Bean House, which opened in 1992, served primarily HIV-positive African-American and Latino Los Angeles residents.

"I am truly saddened to announce that we are forced to close Carl Bean House," AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein said in a press statement. "I am also stunned by the shocking indifference and denial displayed by the supervisors who are sending the wrong message at the completely wrong time. The board is turning their backs on their most vulnerable constituents."

Officials with the Carl Bean House are working to place its patients with other AIDS service groups in the city. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation also says it is working to reassign the 45 Carl Bean staff members to other foundation clinics in the area but anticipates that some of the workers will be laid off.

The facility that houses the Carl Bean House is home as well to the Magic Johnson Healthcare Center, also managed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The future of that clinic is still uncertain, said foundation officials. (Advocate.com)