For Immediate
Release
March 19, 2007
WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC AWARDED KEY FEDERAL DESIGNATION, HIRES NEW PHYSICIANS
Testament to Progress, Says CEO
WASHINGTON - Whitman-Walker Clinic has hired three new doctors in recent weeks, and has been awarded the designation of “Federally Qualified Healthcare Center Look-Alike,” clear indications that the clinic is well on the road to stability, Whitman-Walker officials said today.
“Earning this federal designation and hiring three distinguished new staff within a matter of weeks are a testament to the positive change that is continuing at Whitman-Walker Clinic,” said Donald Blanchon, the clinic’s chief executive officer. “These developments show the progress we are making toward becoming a state-of-the-art health center, offering a full range of care to the entire community.”
The FQHC Look-Alike status, as it’s known in the health care industry, is conferred by the Bureau of Primary Health Care, which is part of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. The designation is only awarded to clinics that provide care to medically underserved communities and meet other stringent requirements. (For more information, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/chc/lookalikes.htm.) The benefits of this status include a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate.
“Becoming an FQHC Look-Alike was made possible by groundwork laid by the clinic’s board of directors, beginning in 2005,” said Jannette Williams, board chair. “I commend the board for the leadership it showed in pressing the clinic forward during an especially difficult period.”
The three physicians recently hired by Whitman-Walker Clinic include a new director of research, a staff physician for the Max Robinson Center in Anacostia and a staff physician to be based at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center in Northwest. These positions are a part of the clinic’s overall restructuring plan, which it has been undertaking for the past six months.
“We welcome these eminently qualified providers, whose expertise will help us as we continue to expand our primary care services and bolster our work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and people with HIV/AIDS,” Blanchon. “And they are joining us at an auspicious time, as we continue to serve more clients.”
Whitman-Walker Clinic served more than 8,000 clients in 2006, a 23 percent increase over 2005.
Following is biographical information on the clinic’s new physicians:
- Dr. Richard A. Elion has joined Whitman-Walker Clinic as director of research. Elion has been the principal investigator on more than 50 research trials during a long career. He is a founding member of the American Academy of HIV Medicine and has served on numerous medical boards, including the clinic’s institutional review board. He is certified in family medicine and has many years of experience in private practice and HIV/AIDS specialty care.
- Dr. Robert J. Ball starts as staff physician at Max Robinson Center on March 28. Ball is also certified in family medicine and has many years of experience in caring for people with HIV/AIDS and the medically underserved. Most recently, he was a physician at Community & Family Medicine in Baltimore.
- Dr. Sarah Henn joins the clinic April 1 as a staff physician. Henn is certified in internal medicine and has been a fellow in infectious disease and HIV/AIDS at the University of Maryland’s school of medicine. She has been a clinical technical adviser at the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, where she focused on launching, evaluating and monitoring HIV and AIDS relief programs in Africa.
Established in 1973, Whitman-Walker Clinic is a non-profit, community-based provider of health care and social services in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Through three sites, in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, the Clinic offers primary medical and dental care; mental health and addictions counseling and treatment; HIV education, prevention, and testing; legal services; case management; and a food bank. Whitman-Walker Clinic is committed to meeting the life needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community and people living with HIV/AIDS.
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