HIV/AIDS: Magic Johnson Clinic Targets African Americans

      AIDS patients in Oakland and Alameda County now will have access to quality care, regardless of ability to pay, thanks to the collaboration of two foundations, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Magic Johnson Foundation teamed up Thursday to open the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. Clinic next to Summit Medical Center in Oakland. Supporters hope that, by including the clinic in a building with other medical offices, patients will be more willing to seek care without fearing disclosure of their HIV status. Although it will treat any patients seeking care, the clinic will target African Americans, who have been disproportionately affected by the disease. Nationally, African Americans comprise 13% of the overall population but account for 49% of all AIDS cases, and the mortality rate for this group is 10 times greater than for whites. In addition to offering quality care, the new facility will also provide HIV testing, disease monitoring, counseling, laboratory work and access to therapies and clinical trials. Johnson, a former NBA star, is "a symbol of living well with HIV," Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said, adding that the use of Johnson's name "will be a message for African American people that they can go to a place that affords them quality and dignity" (DeFao, 7/21).