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OUR HISTORY
In November 1973, the Gay Men’s VD Clinic, part of the Washington Free Clinic, began operating in the basement of the Georgetown Lutheran Church. This was the birth of what was to become Whitman-Walker Clinic.
For more than three decades, the Clinic has been renowned – locally, nationally and internationally – for the high-quality, culturally sensitive care it provides. This work remains critical in an area with the highest HIV infection rate in the country.
1973
In November, the Gay Men's VD Clinic, part of the Washington Free Clinic, begins operating in the basement of the Georgetown Lutheran Church.
1976
The Clinic hires its first full-time staff.
1977
Clinic leaders separate from the Washington Free Clinic and begin to develop their vision for a new, diverse health care organization.
1978
Whitman-Walker Clinic is officially chartered on Jan. 13. The D.C. Department of Human Resources provides $15,000, the first city funds to support the organization. In October, Whitman-Walker Clinic opens a new, rented facility at 1606 17th St., N.W.
1980
A financial crisis threatens the Clinic. The administrator resigns; programs are eliminated. The Clinic moves into more affordable space on 18th Street in Adams Morgan.
An as-yet-unnamed mysterious new disease begins striking primarily gay men in the nation's largest cities.
1981
On April 1, board member Jim Graham becomes Clinic president. In September, Whitman-Walker hires its first board-certified medical technologist for an in-house laboratory offering testing for various sexually transmitted diseases.
On June 5, the Centers for Disease Control's weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report contains an account of five young gay men who had an unusual cluster of infections This is the first medical report on what would come to be known as HIV/AIDS.
1982
On July 27, the CDC identifies a condition that is later named Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
1983
Whitman-Walker launches an AIDS Education Fund to provide information, counseling and direct services to people with AIDS.
The first District of Columbia contract for AIDS services is awarded to Whitman-Walker: $17,500 to operate the DC AIDS Infoline. The Clinic begins its first prevention advertising campaign.
1984
The Clinic opens an AIDS Evaluation Unit, the first gay, community-based medical unit in the country devoted to the evaluation and diagnosis of AIDS symptoms. Fifty-five patients are treated the first year; half with AIDS.
1985
Whitman-Walker opens the Robert N. Schwartz, M.D., House, the city's first home for people with AIDS. A second house opens in December. The Clinic begins anonymous testing for what is then called HTLV-III, becoming the largest testing site in the region.
1986
Whitman-Walker’s housing program expands to four more homes. The Clinic opens a food bank; a full-time lawyer comes aboard to help people with HIV/AIDS handle legal issues.
In February, Whitman-Walker launches a Northern Virginia Project to provide services to people with AIDS in Northern Virginia.
1987
Whitman-Walker moves into a larger facility at 14th & S Streets, N.W.
AZT is approved as the first treatment for HIV. In September, Whitman-Walker begins to offer dental care, making it one of three dental clinics for people with HIV in the nation.
The Clinic opens the Scott Harper House for gay men and lesbians in recovery from substance abuse.
The Clinic holds its first AIDS Walk Washington.
1988
Whitman-Walker Clinic purchases a building at 14th and S Streets, N.W. The Clinic also opens a pharmacy.
1989
The Clinic dedicates its Project NOVAA office in Arlington, which provides case management and education. The Clinic also opens a short-term, interim care facility in D.C.
In April, the main facility expands once more, allowing the food bank to move on-site. Whitman-Walker also becomes part of the National Institute of Health's AIDS Clinical Trials Program Group.
1990
In February, Whitman-Walker receives $142,000 from the American Foundation for AIDS Research to increase research studies as part of AmFAR's clinical trials network.
Whitman-Walker reaffirms its lesbian and gay health mission by hiring full-time paid staff for the Lesbian Services and Mental Health Services programs.
In December, the Clinic dedicates the Stewart B. McKinney House, its first house specifically for families with HIV.
1991
Congress passes the Ryan White CARE Act, providing federal funds that allow Whitman-Walker Clinic to add transportation service, interpreting, a Spanish-speaking physician and a full-time dentist.
The Clinic dedicates a new outpatient care center for people with AIDS, the Bill Austin Day Treatment and Care Center. First lady Barbara Bush attends the event.
1992
The Clinic’s volunteers receive President Bush's Points of Light Award. More than 20,000 walkers make AIDS Walk Washington the city's first $1 million AIDS fund-raiser. Donations through the United Way/Combined Federal Campaign top $1 million for the first time.
Whitman-Walker Clinic of Suburban Maryland opens in Hyattsville.
The first reports of successful combination drug treatments for AIDS are published.
1993
In April, the Max Robinson Center is dedicated in Southeast Washington. In July, the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center is constructed to offer expanded services, including an eye care center, x-ray facilities, an expanded laboratory, a new dental facility and 12 examination rooms.
1994
The Northern Virginia AIDS Project of Whitman-Walker Clinic expands and is renamed Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia.
1995
President Clinton holds the first White House AIDS Summit. The Food and Drug Administration approves 3TC, an anti-HIV drug, and the first protease inhibitor, Saquinavir. Measuring viral load proves a significant predictor of HIV disease progression.
1996
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, National AIDS Policy Director Patsy Fleming and French first lady Bernadette Chirac visit the Clinic to participate in a roundtable discussion with women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.
In June, the first Washington, D.C., AIDS Ride raises a total of $4.5 million for several AIDS organizations, including Whitman-Walker Clinic.
The Washington AIDS Partnership awards Whitman-Walker a grant to begin a needle exchange program. The Clinic launches one the following year.
1997
In February, the Clinic replaces the traditional blood-based testing with a breakthrough oral HIV test, which is just as effective as blood tests.
Whitman-Walker Clinic receives a bequest from the estate of Dr. Richard Karpawich. This $2 million becomes the foundation of the Clinic's endowment.
1998
The Washington AIDS Partnership awards WWC a $42,000 grant to expand the Clinic's needle exchange program. Later this year, Congress passes a District budget with restrictions on federal funding for organizations conducting needle exchange programs. In response, an independent corporation is incorporated to fill the need: Prevention Works Inc.
The National AIDS Marathon Training Program is launched and raises $2 million for the Clinic.
Jim Graham resigns as executive director to serve on the D.C. City Council.
1999
The counseling and testing program goes mobile with an RV that provides testing at health fairs, festivals and bars.
Whitman-Walker is awarded $1.8 million to pay for increasing drug costs through the Pharmacy Drug Assistance Program. The Clinic also begins to accept Medicaid.
2000
A. Cornelius Baker is appointed executive director of the clinic.
The Northwest site is renovated to place nearly all client services at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center.
2001
Whitman-Walker’s Northern Virginia site dedicates the Healing Garden and Labyrinth.
Whitman-Walker partners with 13 other HIV/AIDS service organizations to promote a national education and awareness campaign: “20 Years of AIDS is Enough.” Public service announcements are broadcast on 225 TV stations and 260 radio stations around the country.
2002
The Clinic operates the D.C. Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Information Line in Spanish and English 24 hours a day.
Latino outreach expands with a task force – Spanish Pathways – to ensure that programs and services are serving the Spanish-speaking community. Whitman-Walker also teams with La Clinica del Pueblo in a new Latino outreach program.
2003
Nearly 1,000 people participate in the National AIDS Marathon Training Program and raise $2.5 million for the Clinic.
After a six-year partnership with One in Ten, Whitman-Walker Clinic becomes the sole presenter of Capital Pride.
2004
Financial problems lead to the closing of the Schwartz Housing Program and the transition of all housing clients to other providers.
The CDC and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield help the Clinic observe World AIDS Day by providing funds for two new mobile HIV testing units, one aimed at African-Americans and the other at Latinos.
The National AIDS Marathon program raises $3.4 million for the clinic.
The Lesbian Services Program moves into new space at 1810 14th St., N.W.
A. Cornelius Baker resigns as executive director. Roberta Geidner-Antoniotti, the Clinic’s managing director of operations, is tapped as interim executive director.
2005
Whitman-Walker Clinic opens medical and support services for the transgender community.
In June, the Clinic announces that financial difficulties will force it to close several programs, including the food bank and its sites in Virginia and Maryland. The District of Columbia provides a one-time grant of $3.2 million. Governments in Virginia pledge $800,000 to keep Whitman-Walker of Northern Virginia open through December 2006.This outpouring enables the food bank and the Northern Virginia regional center to remain open. However, the Clinic closes the suburban Maryland facility Sept. 30.
In September, the Max Robinson Center receives a $100,000 grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation to continue renovations.
Capital Pride celebrates its 30th anniversary.
2006
The Clinic unveils a new business model to reduce its dependence on government funding and private donations. The new model expands the clinic’s primary medical care services and strives to bring in more clients with private insurance, Medicaid or Medicare.
Donald Blanchon is named the Clinic’s executive director and chief executive officer.
Whitman-Walker announces a plan to sell the administrative building, the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center and the Max Robinson Center buildings in order to develop new, larger and more modern facilities.
In October, Whitman-Walker Clinic announces it has renewed the lease for Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia for one year, with an option to renew through 2008.
In November, the Clinic is awarded $150,000 by the DC Primary Care Association’s Medical Homes DC initiative to upgrade the Max Robinson Center and begin site planning for an additional clinic in Ward 7.
Read more about the history of the
gay community in D.C. and HIV/AIDS in D.C. and in the
U.S. at the Rainbow
History Project.
"Who
Were Whitman and Walker?"
Ever wonder how Whitman-Walker Clinic
got its name? Who are "Whitman" and "Walker" anyway?
And why does the Clinic bear their names?
The "Whitman" is Walt
Whitman, the celebrated 19th century poet.
It is not widely known, however, that Whitman, who was
gay, was also a health care worker during the Civil
War. When his brother George was wounded in the
Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, Walt came
to his aid, tending to him in the Army hospital until
he was able to return to his regiment. Walt, however,
did not return home so quickly.
Stopping in Washington,
D.C. to visit some hospitalized soldiers from his native
Brooklyn, Whitman became aware that he could not so
easily return to his old life, which seemed trivial
by comparison to the suffering he saw. He remained
in Washington for the remainder of the War and beyond,
caring for the men in various Union Army hospitals throughout
Washington. Whitman had no medical training, but
he saw to the basic physical and psychological needs
of the men. He often said that his interest was
in helping to preserve the dignity and individuality
of the patients in the often harsh and anonymous environment
of the military hospitals. He took a job working
as a clerk in the Army paymaster's office, working a
few hours a week for meager pay, and spent much of what
he earned on food, basic supplies and gifts for the
soldiers he nursed. He later published a collection
of poems, Drum Taps, about his experiences during
the War.
The "Walker" was Dr. Mary
Edwards Walker,  another
fascinating 19th century figure. Mary
Walker was born in upstate New York into an abolitionist
family. Her father, a physician, believed that
his five daughters should have the same education that
was available to the men of the day. In 1855,
Walker graduated from Syracuse Medical College, the
only woman in her class. She married another physician,
keeping her own name, and together they opened a private
medical practice. The public, however, was not
ready for a female doctor who wore trousers and a man's
coat. The practice faltered, and so did the marriage.
Walker and her husband divorced, and she never remarried.
During the Civil War, Walker came to
Washington and tried to enlist in the Union Army.
She was denied an officer's commission because of her
sex, but nevertheless volunteered her services as an
assistant surgeon in many Union Army hospitals, and
often on the front lines. While on duty, she insisted
on wearing a modified officer's uniform, including trousers
under her coat and two pistols at her sides. Walker
served valiantly, even spending four months in a Confederate
prison in 1864 before being exchanged with other prisoners
of war.
After the War, in 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards
Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor for her "services
and suffering" in the war effort. In 1917, Walker's
medal, along with about 900 others, was rescinded when
the Army revised the criteria for awarding the medal
to include only those "in actual combat with an enemy."
Walker refused to return her medal (a federal crime),
and wore it every day until her death in 1919.
In 1977, President Carter reinstated her medal posthumously,
citing her "distinguished gallantry, self-sacrifice,
patriotism, dedication and unflinching loyalty to her
country, despite the apparent discrimination because
of her sex."
Walker's life after the war was dedicated
to activism, and she was active in such causes as women's
suffrage and dress reform. She was proud of the
fact that she was arrested numerous times for wearing
full male dress, including wing collar, bow tie and
top hat. In 1982, the U.S. Postal Service issued
a stamp commemorating "Dr. Mary Walker, Army Surgeon,"
the only woman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor
and only the second woman to graduate from a medical
school in the United States. Ironically, the stamp
portrays her wearing a frilly dress and curls.
Whitman's and Walker's
experiences have much relevance to the gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender community. It was fitting,
therefore, that when the Clinic was chartered in 1978,
the founders chose to honor Walt Whitman and Dr. Mary
Edwards Walker in naming the new organization dedicated
to providing health care to the GLBT community.
The advent of the AIDS crisis, which followed the incorporation
of Whitman-Walker Clinic by only a few years, perhaps
drew another parallel to our namesakes' wartime experiences.
Appropriately, Walt Whitman himself may have captured
the essence of the Clinic's mission when he wrote, "The
expression of American personality through this war
is not to be looked for in the great campaign, &
the battle-fights. It is to be looked for…in the
hospitals, among the wounded." |
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