Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - April 1, 2002
Nina Wu Of The Examiner Staff
The institute, run by a small staff at the Davies Campus in the Castro, conducts research and offers supplemental health care for HIV-positive patients.
"I just don't know what I'm going to do if they close," said longtime patient Dan Phillips. "Maybe California Pacific feels that people can go elsewhere, but I just don't know where that elsewhere might be."
Phillips, 51, was diagnosed as HIV positive more than 20 years ago. He suffered a stroke two years ago and visits the institute about six or eight times a year for treatment of neurological problems, including tension headaches.
He says the institute's Dr. Dawn McGuire finally helped him find out what was causing his head pain. During a discussion, she told him the institute was closing. Usually, he said, patients are lined up outside in the hallway waiting to see physicians.
The institute's location in the heart of the Castro is important to Phillips because he can get there on Muni. Though he has a primary health care provider that prescribes him with a cocktail of pills, Phillips says he needs the additional treatment from the institute to get by.
"Davies is a place where they serve patients in desperate need of care that you can't get any other place," he said.
Insurance changes that two years ago forced the closure of the Independent Practice Association -- an intermediary between doctors and HMOs -- likely caused the institute to shut down.
The hospital is expected to announce its plans today. No one from Pacific Medical Center could be reached for comment.
E-mail Nina Wu at nwu@sfexaminer.com
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