Whitman-Walker Clinic

For Immediate Release
Jan. 30, 2008

WHITMAN-WALKER CLINIC TO OBSERVE NATIONAL BLACK HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY

HIV Testing Will Be Available All Day

WASHINGTON - Whitman-Walker Clinic will observe National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Thursday, Feb. 7, with free HIV testing at all three of its sites:

9:30 am-4:00 pm, Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE.
8:30 am-5:00 pm, Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St., NW. Testing will also be available during the Gay Men’s Health and Wellness Clinic from 6:00-7:30 pm.
8:00 am-8:00 pm, Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia, 5232 Lee Highway, Arlington

“Nine out of every 10 people dying of AIDS in DC are African-Americans,” said Don Blanchon, Chief Executive Officer of Whitman-Walker Clinic. “African-American women are being hit particularly hard in DC, as nine out of every 10 women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and 97 percent of women dying of AIDS are African-Americans.”

“It is vital that African-American women stand up and protect themselves,” said Blanchon. “At Whitman-Walker Clinic, we can provide African-American women with free HIV testing, education about how to prevent HIV, and medical care if they do have HIV. We want African-American women to know how to protect themselves and fight back against this epidemic that is devastating their community.”

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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