The COMPREHENSIVE CARE CENTER,

Tennessee’s Primary Clinic for People with HIV/AIDS and a Center of Excellence

Moves into Vanderbilt Health at 100 Oaks Center

Expanded Quarters Enables CCC

“Our First Patient from 1994 is still Our First Patient at Our New Location”

October 4, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee:  The Comprehensive Care Center (CCC), Tennessee’s oldest and largest clinic serving people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) has moved into almost 24,000 square feet of brand new space at  Vanderbilt Health 100 Oaks.

The CCC has been nationally recognized since its inception in 1994 for developing systems that give patients with HIV/AIDS the best chance for positive health outcomes. Through innovative and personalized disease management, the CCC has prevented — in almost every case — transmission of the AIDS virus from HIV-positive pregnant women to their babies during or following delivery.

The new location, in the office tower on the south side of the former mall near the theater, also will house the clinical research programs of the Vanderbilt AIDS Center and the Nashville Pharmacy which specializes in HIV therapy.

With the release of the new antiretroviral drugs in 1996, the CCC’s treatment focus has evolved from managing the pain and advancing complications of AIDS to helping patients control HIV infection while living out their lives as active and productive members of society.

“We’re all surprised and delighted with the longevity and opportunity to build health that these new drugs provide,” said Stephen Raffanti, M.D., MPH, the CCC’s founder and chief medical officer, and associate professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt.  “But this also increases the need to continue to provide highly specialized and expensive care for our patients on an ongoing basis.  And that is getting more difficult for a small, stand-alone facility, like ours.  So we welcome this expanded relationship with Vanderbilt,” Raffanti said.

This phenomenon will be underscored on the first day of operations at the CCC’s new facility as their first patient from 1994 will also be their first appointment at the new location.  “That’s what’s so great about this new arrangement,” said Roshanda Johnson, MBA, the CCC’s Administrative Director.  “We’re taking AIDS treatment to the next level by combining the recognized expertise in patient care resources of Vanderbilt with the mission driven performance of the CCC.  So our patients can expect to benefit from state of the art technology and patient care systems and still retain the special relationship they have with their providers at the CCC,” Johnson said.

Currently the CCC provides care for more than 2,800 patients in Nashville and through satellite clinics in Cookeville, Columbia and Springfield.

Since its beginning over sixteen years ago as a collaboration between Nashville’s hospitals, business community and Vanderbilt University, the Center has served over 7,400 patients and their families.

The relocation also will further relationships with other AIDS organizations, including Nashville CARES, as well as the city and state health departments, to reduce the number of new HIV infections. About 400 new patients are enrolled annually at the CCC.

 

About The Comprehensive Care Center

Established in 1994, the Comprehensive Care Center (CCC) is the largest and most successful HIV/AIDS primary care clinic in Tennessee.  This private, non-profit agency provides the most expert, state-of-the-art, cost-effective medical care and support services for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Dedicated to advancing and coordinating care, research and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS the CCC offers individuals, who frequently have no other health care alternatives, dignity, compassion, and hope; and we help patients and those who care for them access related medical and support services.  For more information or to make a donation please visit our website at http://www.compclinic.org/ or our page on the Giving Matters website.

 

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