Snohomish County HIV patients who used to commute to downtown Seattle for medical appointments now can get health care much closer to home.
Harborview Medical Center, which has a clinic in Seattle staffed with specialists to treat HIV and AIDS patients, has opened a satellite office in south Everett.
The new clinic is in the Community Health Center of Snohomish County’s medical building at 1019 112th St. SW. Harborview specialists are there to treat patients once a week, on Wednesdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The clinic is open to any of the estimated 600 people in Snohomish County who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, but the facility is targeting people who currently do not have regular health care.
About 200 of these patients were commuting to Seattle for their medical care, said Dr. Tom Tocher, medical director of the Community Health Center of Snohomish County.
The new clinic provides access to Harborview specialists in the care for people with HIV or AIDS.
These patients need to see medical specialists because of the complexity of the viruses they are being treated for, said Dr. Robert Harrington, medical director of Harborview’s HIV clinic.
“It’s a lifelong infection, so you have to consider the long-term effects of the medication you’re using,” he said.
Patients must be closely monitored to ensure they’re taking their medications regularly to prevent their bodies from developing resistance to the prescriptions, he said.
Harborview opened a similar clinic in Bremerton in September 2007 to treat HIV and AIDS patients in Kitsap County, he said. During the past year, it’s scheduled about 450 appointments, he said.
Few specialists in HIV care exist outside major metropolitan areas, he said. So local doctors who do provide this care are often overwhelmed.
The Everett satellite clinic was opened through the effort of four organizations: Harborview Medical Center, the Community Health Center of Snohomish County, the Lifelong AIDS Alliance, and the Washington State Department of Health.
Harborview has operated a clinic in Seattle to treat HIV and AIDS patients since 1984.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
New HIV clinic
The Madison Clinic, a new clinic specializing in the treatment of HIV and AIDS patients, has opened at 1019 112th St. SW in Everett.
The clinic is open Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the toll-free number 866-463-1669.
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