On January 10, Washington DC’s Whitman-Walker Clinic, the largest provider of HIV/AIDS services in the region, says it will expand its medical care as it moves toward becoming a comprehensive health care center, reports The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com, 1/11).

The Post says the clinic will refocus social service programs to better serve patient needs, adding that the clinic also plans to start a public awareness campaign targeting people deemed at a high risk for contracting HIV. The article offered no timeline for the expansion, but the first ad of the campaign, called Project RED, launches today.

“We plan a return to aggressive grass-roots outreach in high-risk communities,” said executive director Donald Blanchon. “We want to be on the right street corners with the right information addressing people who are truly at risk.”

The clinic is hoping to remake itself after recent financial challenges, which prompted deep cuts and layoffs in 2005. Now in its 36th year, Whitman-Walker plans to transform itself in order to address they myriad health issues that HIV-positive people face as they live longer with the virus.