AIDS Clinic Unveils Building Plans
By Matt Garfield / mgarfield@heraldonline.com
Five months after getting a surprise land donation in the heart of Rock Hill’s “Medical Mile,” the Catawba Care Coalition is launching plans for a new headquarters on the site.
The clinic hopes to build a facility within two to three years that supporters hope would be a model for AIDS care in South Carolina – a state notoriously slow in responding to the disease. At Catawba Care’s bustling but cramped offices on Camden Avenue, staffers are running out of room.
“We’re going to need that space,” said executive director Anita Case. “We’re having new clients come in the door every day. We’re handling it. (But) seeing the growth, we just have to be prepared to look ahead.”
A developer stunned the agency in December with a donation of 1.6 acres of vacant land on Constitution Boulevard near Piedmont Medical Center. The site is viewed as ideal for a new, state-of-the-art facility for medical care, counseling and outreach services.
In York County and around the country, demand is growing for HIV/ AIDS services because patients are living longer and, as a result, requiring more medical care.
The number of people ages 50 and older living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, increased 77 percent between 2001 and 2005.
Catawba Care provides services unlike any other clinic in the Charlotte region. South Carolina’s only other “one-stop” location with medical, counseling and prevention services is in Florence.
At Catawba Care’s Christopher Clinic, 408 patients were treated last year – up from 379 in 2006.
Raising its profile
Since its inception in 1994, Catawba Care has maintained a relatively low profile, relying on government money and a small group of donors to expand inside a small, maze-like building.
Board members now are eyeing a different approach. They believe the land will provide a stature that nonprofits need to win over otherwise reluctant donors. The cost of a new building hasn’t been specified.
“The economy’s going to play a big factor in raising money,” said Thomas Rowe, chairman of the board of directors. “I think that’s true for anything in raising money at this point. But we’re positive, we’re going to stay upbeat and anticipate that we can.”
Bill Hargrove and David Lee, the developers who donated the land, have no particular connection to AIDS, but Hargrove said they welcomed the opportunity to meet a need. The pair learned about the clinic through Realtor John Rinehart, who was helping the board look for existing office space around town.
Matt Garfield 329-4063
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