Tag Archives: aids arms

Clinic passes city inspection

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CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY | AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles, left, and IT Manager Cory Claflin look at the blueprints as they inspect the finish-out work at the new Oak Cliff clinic on Sunset Street. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

AIDS Arms begins staffing new clinic and plans September opening

DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

City inspectors gave the new AIDS Arms clinic in Oak Cliff its certificate of occupancy on Friday, Aug. 5, according to Executive Director Raeline Nobles. The first patients will be seen on Sept. 19.

The clinic staff will begin training on the medical records computer system next week.

Nobles said that the only construction that needs to be completed is in the pharmacy area, but that will be open by Sept. 19 as well.

Work crews are feverishly finishing installation of fixtures throughout the renovated facility, she said.

The clinic on Sunset Street in Oak Cliff is 15,000 square feet, three times the size of the Peabody Clinic in South Dallas.

Nobles said that the clinic is for anyone with HIV, whether they have insurance or not.

The pharmacy, with a separate entrance to the street from the clinic entrance, will be open to fill all prescriptions, not just those for AIDS Arms clients.

In addition to medical services, other AIDS service organizations will have space at the clinic to provide services to clients in one location.

While most of the money needed to complete the clinic has been raised, Nobles said that a small amount is still needed to pay off construction costs so fundraising for the project continues.

—  John Wright

AIDS Arms taps Voskuhl as new medical director

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Dr. Gene Voskuhl

HIV specialist says he is leaving private practice to follow his passion

DAVID TAFFET | Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

Dr. Gene Voskuhl will become the new medical director of AIDS Arms effective Aug. 22, a job change Voskuhl said this week is “one heck of an opportunity.”

AIDS Arms’ former medical director, Dr. Keith Rawlings, is moving to San Francisco to take a job in private industry. Rawlings helped develop AIDS Arms’ medical program and opened its Peabody Health Center in South Dallas in 2001.

Voskuhl will join the organization as it expands its health services with a second clinic set to open in Oak Cliff in September. He is an internist specializing in infectious diseases, and was clinical director at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Medicine in Oklahoma City where he worked with underserved populations affected by HIV.

Voskuhl said that his Oklahoma clinic was also a Ryan White-funded facility.

Currently, Voskuhl is a doctor with Uptown Physicians Group, one of the largest private practices with an HIV specialty in Dallas, and he was an infectious disease consultant at Baylor University Medical Center. Preparing for his departure, Uptown is currently placing his patients with other physicians within the practice.

In addition to seeing patients at the AIDS Arms clinic, Voskuhl is excited about the research program already underway at Peabody. Current clinical care and prevention strategies are two areas in of focus in the agency’s research work.

One upcoming study includes using pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, therapy.

“No one knows how well it will work,” Voskuhl said.

But he said it was one approach to prevention for discordant couples trying to prevent the negative partner from contracting HIV. He said that for high-risk people not practicing safe sex, it might also be useful.

Voskuhl said that AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles is an important part of the reason he decided to take the new position, and he praised her commitment to helping people with HIV.

“It’s an important job in the community,” he said. “When the opportunity came up, I said, ‘I have to do this.’”

Voskuhl said he is glad the position will give him an opportunity to focus on HIV care, because “That’s truly my passion.”

The new Oak Cliff clinic is expected to provide medical care to 2,500 patients in addition to several thousand already served at Peabody. Dallas County Health and Human Services estimates 6,000 HIV-positive people in Dallas County do not receive any medical care.

Voskuhl said the clinic was a real safety net. Many of the clients don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid and have no insurance.

“The only other option is Amelia Court,” the HIV clinic at county hospital Parkland Memorial, he said.

The AIDS Arms clinic, however, will also serve patients with insurance who decide to access AIDS Arms’ variety of services and receive their medical care in one location. In addition to new, state-of-the-art facilities, a variety of social services that AIDS Arms offers and other programs will be available at the Oak Cliff clinic.

Although work on the multi-million dollar clinic is nearing completion, fundraising continues in the agency’s Call to Arms campaign.

—  John Wright

Miss LifeWalk pageant nets $18K

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Buoyed by the phenomenal fundraising of Miss LifeWalk 2011 winner Lotta Pink — who came in to the pageant with sponsors and $7,000 already raised — the final tally for the event was $18,000. Lotta took not only the top title, but also Miss Money Bags for her pre-show fundraising.

LifeWalk, which raises money for AIDS Arms, Inc.,is a 3.2 miles fun walk through the Turtle Creek area. It takes place this year on Oct. 2.

Check out our coverage of the pageant here.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

PHOTOS: AIDS Arms clinic begins to take shape

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AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles sent the latest pictures of construction of the new clinic in Oak Cliff.

“It’s starting to look like something real — with walls!” said Nobles.

The clinic should be completed before the end of the summer.

The new clinic’s main reception area as of June 21.
The main staff hallway on June 23.
On June 30, being inspected by Clinic Administrator Godfrey and the Scott and Reid construction team.
Paint, tile, fixtures and other finish-out are the next step.

—  David Taffet

AIDS at 30: North Texas ASO info

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AIDS service organizations in North Texas offer a variety of programs and services to people with HIV/AIDS — from case management, to meals, to housing. Here is a list of the major ASOs in North Texas, what programs and services they offer now, and what they plan to offer in the future:

• AIDS ARMS
351 West Jefferson Blvd. Suite 300
Dallas 75208; 214-521-5191
Founded: 1986
What they do: HIV testing and prevention, long term risk reduction intervention, community outreach and education, client eligibility and intake, case management, outpatient medical care, medication assistance, medical case management, substance abuse and mental health treatment and support, prison outreach and community re-entry, support groups, client education.
What’s new and upcoming: In May, AIDS Arms broke ground on their second clinic that should open by the end of the summer. In addition to providing health services for persons with HIV not currently accessing medical care, the new facility will have resource rooms to bring the services of a variety of agencies under one roof.
A new pharmacy will open in the facility to provide the medications needed by clients.
Research will take place at the new clinic including looking into new PrEP treatments for persons with HIV.

• AIDS Interfaith Network
501 N. Stemmons, Suite 200
Dallas TX 75207; 214-941-7696
Founded: 1986
What they do: Outreach, linguistic services, HIV prevention and prevention for minority women, client advocacy, transportation services, The Daire Center adult daycare, meals program, volunteer services, pastoral services.
What’s new and upcoming: Programmatically, Executive Director Steven Pace said the agency would like to shift more resources to prevention. Pace put together a coalition of four agencies — AIN, ASD, Legacy and Legal Hospice of Texas — that plan to locate in one building. The Coalition for HIV/AIDS Services, as the multi-tenant non-profit center will be known, is negotiating for a building in North Oak Cliff and hope to begin renovation in 2012. The new building would eliminate leasing, allow the agencies to pool some services and equipment and provide one-stop shopping for clients.

• AIDS Outreach Center
400 North Beach Street
Fort Worth 76111
817-335-1994
Founded: 1986
What they do: The Sandy Lanier Nutrition Center, Geisel-Morris Dental Clinic, medical case management and mental health counseling programs.
What’s new and upcoming: Two years ago, AOC began offering more direct medical services with its dental clinic. Over the next two to three years, Executive Director Allen Gould said his agency would like to add more direct medical services including a clinic and a pharmacy to meet all of the needs of clients in one central location. He said they are determining whether to partner or build on their own to provide the services that would compliment what’s being done at the public hospitals.

• AIDS Service Dallas
P.O. Box 4338
Dallas 75208
214-941-0523
Founded: 1985 as the People With AIDS Coalition
What they do: Housing. ASD operates four apartment complexes to serve 225 men, women and children in 125 privately configured apartments.
What’s new and upcoming: ASD partners with Community Housing Development Organization developers to create models of senior housing throughout North Texas. As a consultant/co-developer, ASD receives incentive fees, which is unrestricted money that goes toward AIDS programs. The agency already owns three lots behind Hillcrest House. ASD President and CEO Don Maison said that they’re working on zoning so they can develop the property. With 350 people on the waiting list for housing, Maison said he hopes to develop additional housing in Oak Cliff and elsewhere in the city.

• Anthony Chisom AIDS Foundation
P.O. Box 225104
Dallas, Texas 75222
Phone: 214-239-9145
Founded: 2008
What they do: Bring support, health and medicine to people living with HIV/AIDS in the form of help with COBRA payment assistance, medication payment assistance, bus passes, rent, utility and emergency assistance.
What’s new and upcoming: “We’re a new agency, so we’re securing more funding to do more of what we’re already doing,” said Anthony Chisom. In the fall, the agency hopes to be able to include cell phone bills in its utility assistance program. This fall, Chisom is taking an exploratory trip to Malawi with hope to open a clinic there and is looking for partners to help make that happen.

• A Sister’s Gift
1515 N. Town East Blvd. #138-380
Mesquite 75150
214-421-4274
Founded: 2003
What they do: Services for women with HIV including testing, counseling and group sessions, short-term emergency assistance, case management, buddy program, education programs.
What’s new and upcoming: “Being a seven-year-old agency, our primary agency objectives center around introducing the community and stakeholders to our female-based service structure — being apparent females living with HIV need a different type of support than what was provided 30 years ago,” said Executive Director and CEO Cheryl Lewis Edwards. “Our long-term strategic plan hopes that ASG can serve as a catalyst for the community, clients and families to talk about HIV with the same ease the public now speaks about breast cancer.”

• Health Services of North Texas
4210 Mesa Drive
Denton, Texas 76207
940-381-1501
Founded: 1988 as AIDS Services of North Texas
What they do: With offices in Denton, Plano and Greenville, HSNT serves a five-county area including Rockwall and Kaufman Counties and areas of Dallas north of LBJ Freeway. HSNT provides a variety of services from HIV testing to transportation, primary health care services, food pantry, insurance assistance and case management.
What’s new and upcoming: The agency is focusing on becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center and expanding in the direction of providing primary health care to low-income people while continuing a special focus on persons with HIV.

• Legal Hospice of Texas
3626 N. Hall, Suite 820
Dallas 75219
214-521-6622
Founded: in 1989 as Dallas Legal Hospice
What they do: Legal services for low-income persons diagnosed with terminal illnesses or HIV disease.
What’s new and upcoming: Executive Director Roger Wedell said that as people live longer, the cases his agency handles become more complex. Founded to do simple estate planning, Legal Hospice now works on complex long-term disability and employment issues that may take months to resolve. He said he thought that trend will continue.

• Legacy Counseling Center
4024 McKinney Ave., Suite 102
Dallas 75204
214-520-6308
Founded: 1991
What they do: Mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, and special care housing services for people challenged with HIV and AIDS.
What’s new and upcoming: Executive Director Melissa Grove said that Legacy has had 1100 percent growth over the last decade. The agency is looking for new therapists, especially gay male therapists, to meet the need. Legacy is also planning to expand its women’s programs so that women from around the state can attend its retreats. Fewer terminal patients stay at Legacy Cottage that once exclusively did hospice care. More people are at a crucial moment of their illness who are integrated back into a productive life.

• Resource Center Dallas
3701 Reagan St.
Dallas 75219
Founded: in 1983 as the Foundation for
Human Understanding
What they do: Operate the AIDS Resource Center, Nelson Tebedo Clinic, AIDS Food Pantry as well as the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.
What’s new and upcoming: Currently RCD is expanding dental programs and has a capital campaign to build new community center on land already purchased that is adjacent to Cathedral of Hope on the corner of Inwood and Cedar Springs Roads. The Center will bring all of its programs under one roof and continue to provide additional meeting space and services for community groups. Executive Director Cece Cox said that over the next few years, the agency is looking to expand a number of health programs to the general LGBT community that are now funded only for people with HIV and a new major focus will be general wellness programs.

• Samaritan House
929 Hemphill St.
Fort Worth 76104
817-332-6410
Founded: 1991
What they do: Housing and resources for persons living with HIV/AIDS and other special needs in Fort Worth.
What’s new and upcoming: After being refused a zoning variance last year for an additional property, Samaritan House recently began a collaboration with another non-profit to operate 184 units of quality, affordable housing for low-income individuals and families. Over the next few years, President and CEO Steve Dutton said that he hopes to provide additional housing for people with HIV/AIDS.

—  John Wright

AIDS Arms new clinic gets cool

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The new AIDS Arms clinic in Oak Cliff is making rapid progress. Construction should be complete by the end of the summer. Here are the latest pictures Executive Director Raeline Nobles sent of the work being done:

Two of the air conditioning units being delivered to AIDS Arms new clinic
One unit being transferred to the roof
The HVAC unit is almost in place. The man at the bottom right is directing the crane operator on where to place the unit since he cannot see the roof directly.
Some additional supporting parts going up to the roof
The operation to place the HVAC units takes the entire parking lot
At the same time as the roof delivery, additional construction supplies going in one of the main entrances to the new clinic

—  David Taffet

‘AIDS at 30’ forum set for Tuesday

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Manisha Maskay, Ph.D, Dr. Brady Allen, M.D, and Dr. Christopher Evans M.D.

Panel discussion to explore the current status of HIV treatment and the future of treatment and prevention efforts in next decade

TAMMYE NASH | Senior Editor
nash@dallasvoice.com

Thirty years after the first cases of what would eventually come to be known as AIDS were discovered in gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, the struggle to contain the world-wide epidemic continues.

But where do we stand today in that fight, 28 years after HIV was determined to be the cause of AIDS, and 24 years after the FDA approved AZT as the first real treatment to fight HIV?

On Tuesday, June 28, Dallas Voice — in partnership with Cathedral of Hope and a slate of business sponsors and community organization partners — presents “AIDS at 30: A Community Forum,” to explore the questions of where we are now in the fight, and where we are headed.

The forum will be held at Cathedral of Hope’s Interfaith Peace Chapel, 5910 Cedar Springs Road. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the forum runs from 6:30 p.m to 8 p.m.

The forum is free and open to the public.

“We decided to produce this forum, ‘AIDS at 30,’ from a ‘today and tomorrow’ perspective,” said Robert Moore, Dallas Voice publisher.

“We all know the story of AIDS over the last 30 years. What people are really hungry for now is a real-world look at where HIV prevention and treatment are headed over the next decade,” Moore added. “People want to know that there is hope for a cure, and that the issue of HIV and AIDS is not yesterday’s story, but that it is, indeed, tomorrow’s story.”

The forum will be divided into three sections, with AIDS Arms Associate Executive Director Manisha H. Maskay, Ph.D., leading off on the topic of “HIV Prevention Strategies and Challenges for the Next Decade.”

Maskey has more than 30 years of experience in the field of public health, medical nutrition therapy and health education and behavior change. In addition to her work at AIDS Arms as both associate executive director and director of community and client services, she has worked for the Columbus Health Department in Columbus, Ohio, and as an assistant professor of medicine and director of clinical nutrition and health education services at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Brady Allen, M.D., with Uptown Physicians Group will lead the discussion on the evening’s second topic, “HIV/AIDS Treatment Today.”

Dr. Allen, who graduated from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed his internship and residency at New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, has been one of the preeminent doctors in treating HIV/AIDS since the early days of the epidemic in Dallas.

After a brief retirement in 2008, he returned to Dallas and to Uptown Physicians in January 2009 to continue his practice.

Dr. Chris Evans, M.D., M.P.H., with AIDS Arms’ Peabody Health Center in Oak Cliff, winds up the presentation with a discussion on “What is the Future of HIV Treatment? The Facts. The Hope. The Fiction.”

A Yale University graduate, Dr. Evans completed medical school at Drexel University in Philadephia before completing his residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx. He has been involved in clinical researcher on HIV/AIDS since 2001 and has participated as a sub-investigator in more than 15 studies on HIV/AIDS treatments.

The forum concludes with an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the panelists.

Platinum sponsors for the forum are Uptown Physicians Group and the Vasquez Clinic. Rx Partners Pharmacy is a gold sponsor.

Community organizations partnering with Dallas Voice to present the forum are AIDS Arms, AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County, AIDS Interfaith Network, AIDS Services of Dallas and Resource Center Dallas.

Proceeds from sponsorships and donations go to Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS, the annual bike ride that raises funds for AIDS Services of Dallas, AIDS Outreach Center and Resource Center Dallas.

—  John Wright

LOCAL BRIEFS: National HIV Testing Day; TDWCC to mark Gay Pride Month

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GAIN sets June Social

On Thursday, June 23, GAIN will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Naga Thai Kitchen & Bar, 665 High Market Street in Victory Park. The event is free. Barbara Bach from Resounding Harmony is the special guest. GAIN is a program of Resource Center Dallas for learning, entertainment and social activities for mature members of the LGBT community. This will be the group’s last social before the summer break.

AIN competing for a free Toyota

AIDS Interfaith Network is one of 500 finalists in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. The company will award vehicles to 100 nonprofit organizations based on votes from the public. Voting began last month and continues through July 10.

Voting is done on Toyota’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/Toyota. Supporters are encouraged to go to online and vote for AIN. Visitors to the page can vote once a day.

On the Border gives to AIDS Arms

The Knox Street location of On The Border is participating in a “Give Back Day” on Wednesday, June 22, in which a portion of the proceeds of the day’s sales will be donated to AIDS Arms.
Diners who tell their servers they are there for “Give Back Day” will have a percentage of the cost of their meal will be donated to the agency. Landon Starnes, a member of the Guys and Dolls LifeWalk Team and a volunteer with AIDS Arms, coordinated the event.

On the Border on Knox Street is a sponsor of LifeWalk.

National HIV Testing Day

National HIV/AIDS Testing Day is June 27. Texas is fourth in the nation in the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area has the largest number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in the state.

AIDS Outreach Center, in collaboration with the National Association of People With AIDS — Mayors Campaign Against HIV, will provide free and confidential testing for HIV/syphilis on Friday, June 24, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Miramonte Apartments, 2800 Las Vegas Trail, Fort Worth.

Individuals who test on this day will receive a free ticket for food and an upcoming Hip-Hop Concert. On Monday, June 27, AIDS Outreach Center will again provide free and confidential testing for HIV/syphilis at Fort Worth City Hall, 1100 Throckmorton St., Fort Worth between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

For more information, contact John Reed at AIDS Outreach Center by phone at 817-335-1994, ext. 245.

TDWCC to mark Gay Pride Month

The next general meeting of Texas Democratic Women of Collin County will be Monday June 27, at 6:45 p.m. at the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College, 9700 Wade Blvd. in  Frisco, Building L, Room L135.

The June meeting is being held in a different room than usual. But as always, there will be refreshments and time to socialize.

In honor of Gay Pride Month, TDWCC will host a panel on LGBT issues featuring some of the leaders of the movement in North Texas and moderated by Jeanne Rubin. The panel will include Equality Texas board member Elizabeth Lopez, Collin County Gay and Lesbian Alliance co-founder Dawnetta Miller, Stonewall Democrats of Tarrant County President Lisa Thomas and Community Unity Respect Education co-founder Rosemarie Odom.

Meetings are open to the public. For more information go online TDWCC.org.

—  John Wright

New AIDS Arms clinic progressing on schedule

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DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

AIDS Arms is turning their old office space into a new clinic to serve people with HIV and AIDS in Oak Cliff.

Last week they sent pictures of the backhoe in the new clinic space digging up lots of dirt and trenches for all the required plumbing.

This week: Plumbing has been laid and cement is now being poured over the entire space for new floors and into the plumbing trenches.

AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles reports, “Due to square footage, the bull dozer below is loaded up with cement in the parking lot and then it drives through the building and dumps it down for the cement guys to do their thing. Its moving very fast! HVAC is in, plumbing is in and cement is being poured! It will be a good day when that A/C is turned back on — its hot in there.”

And, a comparison shot to the photos on Tuesday: Dirt is out and new cement floors are in!  You can more clearly see the plumbing coming up from the ground to support the sinks in the exam rooms in this picture. Also, the worker on the ladder is putting in the main air conditioning vent line for the exam rooms which is the metal conduit you see attached to the roof at the top of the picture.

—  David Taffet

Demolition complete at new AIDS Arms clinic

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Heavy equipment completing demolition at the new AIDS Arms clinic on Sunset Avenue in Oak Cliff.

Construction on AIDS Arms’ new Oak Cliff clinic on Sunset Street is progressing on schedule.

AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles reports that all demolition is complete with plumbing now being installed in the foundation of the building.

“In addition, the new HVAC system is being put into place,” Nobles said. “Wall materials have begun to be delivered as well.”

The new facility on Sunset Avenue should open for clients by the fall. The building formerly housed the administrative and social services offices of AIDS Arms. Those have moved to 351 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 300.

The new clinic will compliment the agency’s Peabody Clinic in South Dallas. A full-service pharmacy, laboratory, diagnostic and exam rooms and an HIV research center will all be part of the new facility.

Other support services that are offered by AIDS Arms and other agencies will be provided in a community resource center at the clinic.

Construction began May 4 after a sledgehammer party to begin tearing down the old walls of the facility.

—  David Taffet