County Planning New AIDS Test Centers to Meet Growing Demand

In part because of a sharp increase in the number of heterosexuals clamoring to be tested for AIDS, Los Angeles County officials are planning to open several new testing sites to take care of the case overload caused by fear of the deadly disease.

County supervisors next week are expected to vote on a motion by Pete Schabarum to open a new site in South-Central Los Angeles by the end of April, to be followed by others in the next few months, probably in East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, officials said. The centers will likely be located in existing county health facilities. No opposition is expected.

However, the supervisors were criticized Friday by Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), who said the county had been allocated money last September from the federal government to set up the centers but had failed to do so quickly, thereby causing hundreds of people to be placed on long waiting lists.

County officials responded that the criticism is unwarranted because the surge of people seeking tests only intensified in recent weeks. They said plans were being completed to open new centers that will be convenient for more people.

Long Wait

Officials from the two testing centers in the county that were opened in 1985 said they have been overwhelmed by people wanting AIDS educational information and appointments for tests. The Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center’s Edelman Center in Hollywood estimates that by the end of April, it will be doing 1,000 tests a month, as contrasted with 500 in December. Some people have to wait eight weeks for an appointment, according to Jackie Gelfand, project coordinator.

More than half of those tested last month at the Hollywood facility were heterosexuals, officials said.

Those seeking tests at The Center, a site run by the Long Beach Health Department, have jumped from 100 a week in January to nearly 300 a week this month.

The blood test that is administered reveals whether a person has been exposed to the AIDS virus but not whether that person will actually get the deadly disease.

Health officials likened the surge to the early days of the AIDS epidemic when such centers were similarly inundated by homosexuals fearing for their lives. They added that this current concern has been precipitated by recent statistics, which show that the percentage of heterosexuals in the AIDS population nationwide has increased from 2.4% to 4% in the last year, and the release in October of U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop’s AIDS report, which emphasized education and personal responsibility of both gays and heterosexuals in curbing the disease.

National Figures

There have been 2,659 cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the county and 1,630 deaths in the last six years. Nationally, more than 31,000 cases have been reported, and there have been 17,851 deaths.

In 1985, 31 testing sites were established in California with state and federal funding. These testing centers were founded in the hopes of deterring people from going to blood banks and posing as potential blood donors when they only wanted to be tested for the AIDS infection. The centers promise anonymity and thus attract many who would prefer not to take the test through a personal physician.

Roos, who sponsored the legislation that authorized $5 million to fund the state network of testing sites, said at a press conference Friday that he introduced new legislation last week to force the county to set up four testing centers because officials have “dragged their feet.” He noted that county officials received $370,000 in federal funds in September for the sites.

Moved Forward

Tom Hibbard, an aide to Schabarum, contended that “bad administration” in the Department of Health Services has resulted in the long waiting lists. However, he noted, plans have moved forward since staff changes have taken place in the AIDS program in recent months.

Dr. Caswell Evans, assistant director of health services, acknowledged that several personnel changes have been made but added that “we’ve had a lot of work to do on a number of fronts.”

The present influx of people at the test sites has been in part a result of a concerted public AIDS education campaign, he said.

“We are pleased that the message is taking root,” Evans said.