White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett meets with representatives from Whitman-Walker Health, D.C. city government and George Washington University during her visit to Whitman-Walker.
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama visited Whitman-Walker Health (WWH) on Monday, November 18 to meet with WWH leadership and speak with patients about the culturally competent, high quality care provided at Whitman-Walker.
In July, as part of ongoing implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, President Obama released the HIV Care Continuum Initiative, which “will mobilize and coordinate Federal efforts in response to recent advances regarding how to prevent and treat HIV infection.” Ms. Jarrett visited Whitman-Walker Health to see an example of a local community health center doing outstanding work to implement policy. Recently named a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Whitman-Walker Health has been a leader in implementing programs such as The Red Carpet program which enables patients diagnosed with HIV to readily access their care team to include public benefits support. It is programs such as this that are examples of how WWH is meeting the goals of the Initiative
“Whitman-Walker was honored to host Ms. Jarrett,” says Don Blanchon, Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Health. “This visit was a tremendous opportunity to share how our health center family fulfills the mission of Whitman-Walker Health. The HIV Care Continuum Initiative is an example of not only great federal leadership on the issue of HIV treatment and prevention but also of the need for community engagement to be successful. It will take community health centers across the nation working together to ensure that all persons living with HIV have access to treatment and can stay in care.”
Established in 1978, Whitman-Walker Health is a non-profit, community health center serving the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Through two sites in the District of Columbia, Whitman-Walker Health offers primary medical and dental care; mental health and addictions counseling and treatment; HIV education, prevention, and testing; legal services; and medical adherence case management.
