">Hiv Patients | Local Health Center To Treat Hiv Patients

Published: Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 4:57 p.m.

The Petaluma Health Center will begin treating around 75 HIV patients per year and will be providing services to more people with sexually transmitted diseases and family planning needs next year, now that Sonoma County has decided to eliminate these services to address state funding cuts.

“Right now, we don’t have anyone on our staff who has the experience to treat, or the ability to coordinate care for, local HIV patients,” said Kathryn Powell, the PHC’s executive director. “So, primarily, the West County Health Centers (in Santa Rosa) and Southwest Community Health Centers (in several locations, including Sebastopol) will be taking care of them.

“But we will develop a plan, and start serving about 75 people by March of 2011, when our new building is scheduled to open.”

The health center has purchased a 53,000-square-foot building at 1179 N. McDowell Boulevard that will enable it to increase its yearly patient visits from the current 68,500 to 108,000 by 2013, and have enough growth room through 2020. Also, the health center will serve a much broader spectrum of patients.

The PHC already treats people with sexually transmitted diseases and family planning needs, but Powell expects that more of them will be coming there after the county no longer offers the services.

“No hard date has been set by the county. They won’t close facilities until there are enough services and people in the community to take care of these people,” she said.

Challenged with addressing some $27 million in state funding cuts during the past three years and an additional $10 million next year, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors opted to eliminate all, rather than some, of the services at the HIV clinic on Humboldt Street and the public health clinics on Chanate Road and Riley Street. Closing the HIV clinic will save an estimated $837,000 per year, while shutting down the public health clinics on Chanate Road and Riley Street will trim around $283,000 each year.

The HIV clinic serves around 550 clients each year, and the two pu