San Antonio AIDS Foundation To Begin Rehiring Staff After Receiving Funding From County
The San Antonio AIDS Foundation plans to rehire nurses and admit more patients after it received a total of $125,000 in funding from Bexar County, Texas, and the University Health System on Tuesday, officials said, the San Antonio Express-News reports (Idell Hamilton, San Antonio Express-News, 4/19). SAAF six weeks ago learned that its annual budget would be cut by $257,000. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Bureau recently announced it plans to cut the annual Ryan White CARE Act grant to Bexar and surrounding counties by 15%, or $568,000 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/19). The Bexar County commissioners on Tuesday voted to give SAAF $26,000 from the county's general fund, and other county grants and UHS provided $99,000 in additional funding. The extra money is not enough to help the foundation's clinic, SAAF House, fill its 36 beds but will allow it to take in a few more patients, David Ewell, SAAF's executive director, said. SAAF also can apply for an additional $25,000 grant from the county, the Express-News reports. Ewell criticized the way the San Antonio Area HIV Health Services Planning Council decided to divide the Ryan White grant. Roland Recio, a liaison staff member for the council, said, "We have to weigh what is going to be the most beneficial for the largest number of people" (San Antonio Express-News, 4/19).
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