D.C. Gay Health Center Embraces Change

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

April 28 2011 7:00 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Washington, D.C.'s 33-year-old LGBT-focused health center is changing its name, logo, and website.

Formerly known as the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the LGBT health and HIV center is now known as Whitman-Walker Health. Unlike other LGBT health centers in cities like San Francisco and Chicago, Whitman-Walker Health is actually operating in the black. Executive director Don Blanchon says their success can be traced to their services being expanded from HIV and STD testing and treatment to diabetes screenings, dental care, and women's services that include cancer testing.

"Whitman-Walker is staying true to our roots but is also expanding," Blanchon said in a statement. "While we remain committed to serving the LGBT community and to people living with HIV/AIDS, we know that our historic mission can best be fulfilled by serving as the wider community's medical home."

The health center is named for Walt Whitman -- the gay writer was a health worker during the Civil War -- and Mary Edwards Walker, a feminist doctor who lived in the 19th-century. Click here to view the center's new website.