Media Contact:
Craig Bowers
Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer
213.201.1475
cbowers@aplahealth.org
12.23.22
APLA Health Receives $500,000 to Expand LGBTQ+ Health Care Services in Long Beach
APLA Health is thrilled to announce that it will be receiving $500,000 to expand LGBTQ+ health care services in Long Beach as part of the federal spending bill signed by President Biden today. The funding comes courtesy of a request for community project funding from retiring Long Beach Rep. Alan Lowenthal (pictured above, center). Through community project funding, members of Congress can request funding for critical health, public works, and other specific projects in their districts.
The new funding will support the expansion of APLA Health Center, Long Beach located on the campus of St. Mary Medical Center. APLA Health is one of the only providers of comprehensive health care services in the South Bay dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community. The expansion will allow APLA Health to double the number of exam rooms, accommodate additional clinical and support staff, and build APLA Health’s first in-house pharmacy.
“Rep. Lowenthal and his staff were invaluable in securing this additional funding for APLA Health,” said APLA Health CEO Craig E. Thompson. “The new funding will not only expand our current facility, but it will also allow us to provide care, treatment, and prevention services to even greater numbers of LGBTQ+ patients, people with HIV, and other underserved communities in the Long Beach area.”
“This funding is a tribute to Rep. Lowenthal and his ongoing support for APLA Health during his entire Congressional career and before that when he served in the state Senate and Assembly,” continued Thompson. “With Rep. Lowenthal’s retirement, we now look forward to working with his successor, newly elected Rep. Robert Garcia, formerly the Mayor of Long Beach and also a strong ally of APLA Health, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with HIV.”
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APLA Health restores dignity and trust within underserved communities by providing world-class LGBTQ+ empowering healthcare, support services, and HIV specialty care. Since 1983, APLA Health has remained steadfast in its commitment to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our lifetime. The agency is a multi-site operation includes eight Federally Qualified health Center (FQHC) locations, serving more than 18,000 people annually in Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous. We provide 20 different services including: medical, dental, behavioral health and HIV specialty care; PrEP counseling and management; health education and HIV prevention; and STD screening and treatment. For people living with HIV, we offer housing support; benefits counseling; home healthcare; and the Vance North Necessities of Life Program food pantries; among several other critically needed services. Additionally, we are leaders in advocating for policy and legislation that positively impact the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities and conduct community-based research on issues affecting the communities we serve. For more information on APLA Health visit https://aplahealth.org.
