Subject: Community Health Trust Disbands Medication Program
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 12:18:06 EDT

Exclusive from The Letter - Kentucky's gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender 
newspaper

Louisville (June 3, 2000).  At its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, June 
1, the board of directors of Community Health Trust voted to disband its 
medication assistance program and concentrate on providing services to 
residents of Glade House, its home for people living with AIDS.  Final day 
for the program is set for June 15.

For the foreseeable future, the agency will continue to operate the Gay and 
Lesbian Hotline and a volunteer buddy program.  CHT - The Store, an upscale 
Highlands-area thrift store that turns over its profits to the agency, is not 
affected as it's a separate legal entity.

The decision to scuttle the program was prompted by a judgment against it by 
Teresa Davis, who charged that she'd been illegally passed over for 
employment consideration in 1997 because of her sex.  In March 2000, the 
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights ruled in her favor.  Davis is seeking 
$50,000 plus other costs.  The agency also faces nearly $12,000 in attorney 
fees.  Because Community Health Trust doesn't have those amounts in any 
non-dedicated account, it has agreed to pay the settlement over time.

Community Health Trust was established in 1984 as a health agency dedicated 
to the treatment of all health problems within the GLBT community, but it 
quickly found its attentions focused on people with AIDS and HIV disease, 
whether they were members of that community or not.

The medication assistance program provided financial assistance for various 
drugs such as marinol, an appetite enhancer, that aren't specific to 
treatment of HIV disease itself.  It was also helping about a dozen members 
of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender community with other 
medications.

AIDS clients will be referred to other local programs and won't be left 
without vital medications.  But there is no other program for the GLBT 
clients.  "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell these dozen or so clients," 
writes Craig Hittie, the agency's client services coordinator, in a June 2 
email to this newspaper.  "I am trying to write the letter to my clients to 
inform them of the decision, but I don't know quite how to start it."

At its peak in 1997, Community Health Trust employed over twenty individuals. 
 As late as last June, it still oversaw about a dozen.  But at the time of 
its announcement Thursday it was down to three.

Two of those employees--Hittie and a secretary, Carla Hughes--are expected to 
be out of work soon:  Hittie after June 15 and Hughes by July 31.  The third 
employee--Glade House manager Bart Brown--will remain.

Although its bank account is low, its services to residents of Glade House 
are not in jeopardy.  The board is solid in its determination to keep the 
residence going.  Despite the fiscal retreat, Community Health Trust is in 
line for new grants to help with Glade House and establish another residence 
sometime in the near future.  A real need for assistance to those at the home 
continues to be felt.

But the agency can't continue that support without the GLBT community and its 
friends.  To help out, it seeks contributions in any amount to Community 
Health Trust AIDS and Wellness Services, Inc., PO Box 4277, Louisville, KY  
40204.  For more information, call its offices during normal business hours 
at 502/574-5496.

END

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 13:27:52 EDT
Subject: Community Health Trust Article - Correction

Thanks to an alert reader, The Letter has been apprised of a potential 
misinterpretation of our internet article on Community Health Trust, sent to 
you earlier.  The story details the agency's decision to abolish its 
medications assistance fund.  We wrote that "The decision to scuttle the 
program was prompted by a judgment against it by Teresa Davis..."  Actually, 
the judgment was against Community Health Trust, not the program.  The 
program has nothing to do with the ruling.  Our apologies for any 
misunderstandings that might arise from that sentence.

The Letter has been a constant supporter of Community Health Trust and its 
programs.  It is also fervent in its opposition to any forms of 
discrimination.  We have read the judgment brought against the agency by Ms. 
Davis, and while we regret the problems Community Health Trust is facing 
here, we can reach no other conclusion than that CHT and/or its agents were 
at fault in this matter.

That was then, this is now.  CHT continues to need the active support of the 
community in its work for people living with HIV/AIDS.  We hope you will 
continue to help out in whatever way you can.

--David Williams, Editor