Private MD News

Health clinics lose funding for STD tests

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Community health centers are an important provider of STD testing for many people, but these clinics often rely on grants and donations to run their services.

While there are many federal and state sources of funding available for these operations, they can occasionally be changed depending on the views of current politicians, which can leave these vital community health centers in a position where they have to cut services.

One clinic in Missouri is in this position, as recent grants that provided for STD and HIV testing have been reduced, leaving the clinic short on funding for these programs.

"Prevention, education and testing is a big part of the mission of the organization, so we'll never completely eliminate it but we'll have to figure out ways that we can support it without having additional staff in place to do it," Cale Mitchell, director of Rain Clinic in Columbia, told KBIA news radio.

The hit hampers the efforts of health officials in the area to reduce STD rates, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that STD testing can be the most effective way to stop the spread of diseases.