Adam Clampitt Weighs in on Fenty Firing Dr. Gregg Pane

Adam Clampitt is a candidate for City Council. The following is reprinted from his blog, District Matters. Visit Adam's campaign website at www.adamclampitt.com Mayor Fenty's citywide shake-up continued last week with the firing of Gregg Pane, the director of the Health Department. While Pane came to DC with excellent credentials, health problems in the District persist, and I applaud the Mayor for his aggressive approach. Unacceptable levels of infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, asthma and now even staph have combined with an access problem in poor neighborhoods to create a real emergency. Just as with our school system, it is time for drastic change. I hope that Mayor Fenty looks to cities around the nation for qualified health professionals and best practices when choosing a candidate. Whether it is New York City's successful HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns or California's proposed health care plan, we need to look to other regions and cities to find solutions that work elsewhere. We also need to seriously examine the bureaucracy to make sure that DOH employees are performing adequately and that we have the most qualified and dedicated employees. Furthermore, I believe that the new director of DOH needs to improve response in the event of a large public health outbreak. This is a real possibility and an unprepared government can prove deadly. Washington, DC, can and should be an example to the rest of the country of quality heath care and health care emergency services. We residents deserve it. should demand it, and should hold our public officials accountable.

Fenty Fires DOH Director Dr. Gregg Pane

The Washington Post reports that "D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty fired Gregg A. Pane today as director of the city's Department of Health, three years after Pane was selected by former Mayor Anthony A. Williams to run the long-troubled agency." Dr. Gregg Pane had also been serving as the interim Director of the DC HIV/AIDS Administration, until this week, when Dr. Shannon Hader began her roll as the new Director. Although Dr. Pane never received a grade from DC Appleseed during his time as interim director, one could argue that his performance overseeing the HIV/AIDS Administration was not significantly better than previous directors. read the whole Washington Post article here

When will Gregg Pane Get His Grade?

The Appleseed Reports on HIV/AIDS in the District have always carried a lot of weight. Former HIV/AIDS Administration Director Lydia Watts was fired by Gregg Pane just one week after the first Appleseed Report. When Marsha Martin became Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, she received regular 'report cards' from DC Appleseed measuring the progress of the HIV/AIDS Administration. The first report card covered August 2005 to March 2006. The second report card covered March 2006 to December 2006. Then on January 1st Marcia Martin left the HIV/AIDS Administration when Mayor Fenty took office and chose not to keep her on board, at which time Gregg Pane took the reigns as Interim Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. We have yet to see a report card that measures progress made during Gregg Pane's time as Interim Deputy Director. It remains to be seen whether the Appleseed Project will weigh in on Pane's work at the HIV/AIDS Administration. One has to wonder whether his 'grades' would be better or worse than the two Directors he fired.

Between Promise and Performance: Leadership

Promise & Performance: Leadership | Condom Distribution | HIV Testing | X-Pres Leadership The District of Columbia still does not have a Director for the HIV/AIDS Administration. For six months now, the HIV/AIDS Administration has been a ship without a captain. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced at the beginning of his term, that he would not reappoint Marsha Martin to the position. At that time, Gregg Pane, head of the Department of Health, appointed himself as interim leader. Gregg Pane continues to split his time between his responsibilities as the head of the Department of Health and as the interim leader of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Both Pane and Fenty have referred to HIV/AIDS as the top health priority in the District, yet for six months now, we have settled for part-time leadership. The Promise: On February 9th, the Washington Blade reported that: "he (Gregg Pane) said he and Fenty would name a new director of the administration in 30 to 60 days after Pane 'gets to the bottom' of what AIDS activists and health advocacy groups have said has been a problem-plagued agency for years." The Performance: Gregg Pane failed to make good on this statement. Now, five months later, we are still waiting for a new Director. Adrian Fenty now bears the awkward distinction of being the only Mayor of DC without a full time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration since the beginning of the epidemic.

Washington Post Article on 'New' Testing Initiative

On National HIV Testing Day Mayor Adrian Fenty and DOH head Greg Pane announced a new HIV testing plan without offering any additional information about the outcome of the last HIV testing plan. The Washington Post reports: Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and city health director Gregg A. Pane used National HIV Testing Day to announce the effort, which aims to boost by 25 percent the number of young people who know their HIV status. It will be one of several new undertakings, all of which target some of the city's most at-risk populations, and could force the often-criticized school system to implement a comprehensive, up-to-date HIV/AIDS curriculum. While the focus on young people is encouraging, and the reference to comprehensive sexuality education is much needed, I still find myself wondering if we accomplished any of the goals we set with the last HIV testing plan. Where is the accountability? Even after the Washington Post filed a Freedom of Information Act Request to get this information, we are still in the dark. The biggest challenge the HIV/AIDS Administration faces is not setting goals, it is meeting them. As I have been blogging this week, the challenge is getting from promises to performance. If there is no accountability for accomplishing the last plan, it's hard to imagine anyone will be held accountable for accomplishing this one. While I would like to be optimistic, I can't help but wonder how this plan is any different from all the other plans that have fallen by the wayside.

Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS

I will post my thoughts on the summit tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime, here is a review of the Post Article from Kaiser Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty on Wednesday pledged to "put an end to [the] crisis" of HIV/AIDS in the district, although he did not commit to declaring a state of emergency based on the number of cases in the city, the Washington Post reports. Fenty held Wednesday's summit -- which was attended by more than 150 health experts, service providers and advocates -- as part of his action plan for his first 100 days in office. Fenty said that within one week, district agencies involved with HIV/AIDS will be called on to work together and that he likely soon will select a new director for the city's Administration for HIV Policy and Programs. "This is the No. 1 (public health) priority of this government," Fenty said. Also at the summit, Department of Health Director Gregg Pane said that about 48,000 people in 2006 received HIV tests as part of the district's citywide testing campaign (Levine, Washington Post, 4/5). District health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in June 2006 launched the campaign, titled "Come Together D.C., Get Screened for HIV," which emphasizes the importance of HIV testing. The campaign aimed to reach 400,000 men, women and children ages 14 to 84 in the district. According to statistics presented at the Mayor's Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which convened for the first time in June 2006, up to 25,000 people, or more than 4% of all residents, in the district might be HIV-positive. District health officials ordered 80,000 rapid HIV tests for the campaign, which organizers planned to distribute at no cost to hospital emergency departments, private physician offices, community health programs, detoxification and substance use centers, and sexually transmitted infection treatment clinics (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/18/06). According to Pane, the number of people screened in 2006 is the most recorded in a single year and a 75% increase compared with 2005. Half of people screened were tested at private medical facilities and more than one-third were tested in clinics or hospitals. Men and women in their mid-30s to mid-40s were the most likely to receive tests, while older teenagers and young adults were the least likely to receive tests, according to the Post. The campaign did not attain its goal of reaching the several hundred thousand residents in its targeted population, and Pane added that data collected at testing sites were not complete enough to provide the demographic information needed to develop the most effective prevention and treatment plans. According to the Post, officials are examining data to determine how many new HIV cases were identified among district residents who did not receive tests in more skewed settings, such as the city's prison facility. The district estimates that 17,000 to 23,000 people in the city are living with HIV, but "years of surveillance shortfalls mean that data-driven calculations are unavailable," the Post reports. According to Pane, 5,179 new AIDS cases were reported locally between 2001 and 2006 (Washington Post, 4/5).

Articles on DOH/HAA Restructuring

There have been several recent articles about the restructuring of the HIV/AIDS Administration at the Department of Health. As most of you know, Gregg Pane, who is the head of the Department of Health, has also appointed himself as the interim Director of HAA. In this Washington Blade Article, Pane clarifies that they do plan to hire a director in the next 30-60 days. Articles have also appeared in The Examiner, the NBC 4 Website, and of course I'm quoted in this article that appears in Metro Weekly, where they referenced previous blog posts about Gregg Pane. I've received a lot of positive feedback from the Metro Weekly article, and a little negative feedback. Let me just say this about the article. When it comes to HIV/AIDS, DC ranks as one of the worst cities in the country, if not the world. Things are not going well, and to say otherwise at this point, is unconscionable. As long as I know in my heart that we can do better, I will be the guy in the back of the room standing up and saying those very words as loud as I can. Why? Because we can do better. I hope those of you who believe that will join the Metro DC Campaign to End AIDS. Together, we can make a difference.

Thirty Three Days and Counting. Where's our AIDS Czar?

A while back in a previous post, I asked the question, Does that leave us with Gregg Pane (pictured left) as our new AIDS Czar/DOH head?. To clarify, that was a rhetorical question and the answer is NO! Because obviously nobody can be the head of the Department of Health and a full time AIDS Czar simultaneously. I regret the wording, however, because I see the Examiner has set the dangerous precedent of referring to Gregg Pane as the AIDS Czar in a recent article. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me make a couple points about this article that need to be said. First, as head of the Department of Health, Gregg Pane has been the man ultimately responsible for the operations of the HIV/AIDS Administration ever since he was first appointed as Acting Director in August of 2004. Nothing has changed in this regard. Second, nobody can simultaneously hold two full-time jobs. Gregg Pane simply can't be both a full time head of the DOH and a full time AIDS Czar. He needs to hire a full time, competent and qualified individual to assume leadership of the HIV/AIDS Administration. He simply is not going to be able to accomplish part-time what others have failed to accomplish full-time. Third, the goals Pane has set for the HIV/AIDS Administration are nothing new. In fact, they are terribly similar to many of the goals laid out by Marsha Martin. We had a previous goal of distributing a million condoms, which we did not meet (Pane's new goal is lowered to 250,000). We had a previous goal for HIV testing which we did not meet. The challenge is not setting goals, the challenge is in actually accomplishing them; a view that was eloquently stated by Raymond Blanks in his op-ed Between Promises and Performance. I seriously doubt we can do this without a full time, dedicated Director for the HIV/AIDS Administration. Thirty three days and counting. Where's our AIDS Czar?

Twenty Days and Counting

It has been 20 days since Mayor Fenty declined to reappoint Marsha Martin as Director of AHPP and still no word on a replacement. Nada. Zip. It makes me wonder whether or not the plan to restructure the Department of Health (as mentioned in Fenty's 100 Day Plan) includes eliminating the position all-together. Does that leave us with Gregg Pane (pictured left) as our new AIDS Czar/DOH head? I'm not convinced that Gregg Pane is focusing on HIV/AIDS. And I'm definitely not convinced that we are better off now (without a director) than we were when Marsha Martin was in office. Mayor Fenty, I thought HIV/AIDS was a top priority for your administration. What's going on? Twenty Days and counting. I suggested at the last Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC meeting that if the silence continues for 99 more days, we should plan a protest on day 100. I hope something happens soon, but if not, you know where I'll be on April 13th.

Washington Times Op Ed

The following op-ed appeared in the Washington Times. Dr. Gregg Pane, the director of the D.C. Department of Health, has named himself the interim director of the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs and has named Marie Sansone (currently in charge of HIV surveillance) as his chief of staff. Dr. Pane told the Washington Blade recently that his decision to take on the temporary role stemmed from wanting to "get to the bottom of the problems" the AIDS administration has seen in the past. We hope that Dr. Pane's 20-plus years of experience in the public health sector will revamp the AIDS agency, as the staggering infection rates in the District warrant urgent action. In what appears to be a step in that direction, the Washington Free Clinic closed its doors yesterday after nearly 40 years and will move its 12-person staff to the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Elizabeth Taylor facility so that comprehensive health care for the underserved continues. Health-care and insurance policies continue to undergo significant changes, and it has become increasingly difficult for small clinics "to stay viable," Gardiner Lapham of the Washington Free Clinic said. Whitman-Walker, no stranger to financial struggle, had been looking to incorporate primary care into its current operations to the homosexual community with a focus on HIV/AIDS care. The goal is to retain that mission, but to also expand its capacity. Both clinics have done tremendous work in the District. Advocates hope that, by joining forces, they will be better equipped to reach more people and provide more comprehensive health care. In terms of policy, it is long past the time for the city to stare down the atrocious HIV rate: 1 in 20 residents. Mayor Adrian Fenty has not yet articulated his administration's overall health-care policies, but we do support his decision to replace the Williams administration HIV/AIDS administrator. The District has to do far more than "blanket" the city with condoms to reverse the current HIV/AIDS crisis. Kim Mills, director of communications for Whitman-Walker, said she is confident that the Fenty administration will continue to spread the message of testing and prevention. We are reserving comment until we see the mayor's concrete plans. Going forward, the city and nonprofit groups need to take a head-on approach to HIV prevention and work diligently to ensure policies and public dollars are spent on practices that work. New directors and a new direction, coupled with the growing efforts at Whitman-Walker, are good first steps.

Gregg Pane off to a Rocky Start

When Adrian Fenty announced that he would not reappoint Marsha Martin to head AHPP, I was left with the impression that DOH chief Greg Payne was going to be closely working with AHPP until a new Director is hired. In fact the Blade went so far as to run the headline Health chief assumes control of AIDS office. We got two indications last week however, that Greg Payne is not going to be quite as "hands on" as expected. First, he was a no-show at last week's HIV Community Planning Group Meeting. The previous month, Marsha Martin had come on board as the co-chair of this planning body. Personally, I think his presence at the meeting would have left a strong signal that we are not going to be left hanging in the wind while there is no director in at AHPP. And who did they choose to replace Marsha Martin? Marie Sansone. The woman who is already so swamped with work that she can't keep track of AIDS cases in the District. I don't mean to be unkind to Sansone. I just believe giving her additional responsibilities means it's going to take even longer to get those AIDS cases counted. Secondly, Greg Payne is holding up approval of the new HIV Community Planning Group Members. Without approval of the new member,s the CPG is barely able to function (they couldn't get a quorom until 20 minutes into the meeting). To fully understand the frustration, you have to understand these community volunteers first applied to serve on the CPG in August of 2006. They have been waiting more than six months now to be approved. This is completely unreasonable. Granted, not all the delay can be attributed to Payne. But the delays make waiting an extra month or two for his approval all the more frustrating. We either need Greg Payne to step up, or we need a new Director of AHPP as soon as possible. Since hiring a new Director of AHPP was not included in Fenty's 100 Day Plan, I can't help but be concerned.