CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation is days away from losing more than $600,000 in state and federal funding, money that CEO Bill Hoelscher said is essential to providing free HIV and STI prevention and treatment services for thousands in South Texas.
“It’s a blow. It’s a serious blow to us,” Hoelscher said.
The organization, which serves as the only HIV service provider across an 11,000 square mile area, supports over 2,500 patients each year through screenings, mental health counseling, in-home testing, mobile outreach, and treatment options.
The loss of funding from the Texas Department of State Health and Human Services (DSHS) was announced May 30 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding will expire July 1. Hoelscher said he has not heard about any funding renewals yet.
The cut will not only impact patient care but also force the foundation to lay off staff.
“Funding costs and having to let people go because we can no longer pay them is going to be detrimental,” Hoelscher said.
He added that the need for services is growing. He's seeing an increase of cases among newly single women, mature people between 50 and 70 and young people between 16 and 24.
“When you don’t have testing readily available for people, they contract the illness and then they keep spreading it because they don’t know they have it,” he said.
Hoelscher emphasizes that prevention and education is key to a healthy community.
At this time, the foundation has not identified any alternative funding sources that could keep the program going. Without support, Hoelscher warns, the program will eventually have to shut down.
“Without these funds, it is going to be exceptionally limiting, actually, the program will simply have to go away,” he said.
The news comes just ahead of National HIV Testing Day on Friday, June 27. The day has been recognized nationwide since 1995 to encourage early detection and education about HIV.
The Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation said it will continue offering HIV and STI services for as long as funding allows.
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