PORTLAND, Maine — Health care funding for HIV positive patients at a city-run clinic in Portland, Maine, has been transferred to a private nonprofit, but fewer than half of the clinic’s patients have followed the funding to the new provider.
The Portland Press Herald reports the city last month transferred a $356,000 federal grant to nonprofit Greater Portland Health. The grant covered the cost of care for 229 patients who were treated at the clinic.
Thirty-three of those patients have registered for care at the privately-run clinic. None of the staff transitioned to the nonprofit. The city’s HIV clinic closed Dec. 30.
City officials say they believe many patients chose clinics closer to their homes. Greater Portland Health CEO Leslie Clark says she expects the number of patients to grow.