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Local AIDS organizations evaluate delivery of services by Ethan Jacobs
staff reporterFriday Feb 20, 2009 Big changes may be afoot for three of the Boston area’s leading HIV/AIDS organizations, AIDS Action Committee (AAC), JRI Health and Cambridge Cares About AIDS. Bay Windows is working on a story for next week’s issue looking at a strategic initiative the three organizations are undertaking to rethink their service delivery models and examine ways to collaborate and streamline their services. In an e-mail sent out to colleagues in other organizations the leaders of the three organizations - Rebecca Haag, Douglas Brooks and John Gatto, respectively - explain that they are working with a non-profit consulting firm, New Sector Alliance, to examine each organization’s programming and outline some different options for collaboration. The organizations launched this initiative in partnership with the Boston Foundation, which is funding New Sector Alliance’s work on the project.
As Haag, Brooks and Gatto explained in their e-mail, "The project focuses on developing a deep understanding of each of our organizations - our mission, core competencies, all aspects of services/programs, finances, and operations - in order to determine the optimal structure for collaboration. The project involves an in-depth examination of our organizations in light of the external environment in order to best understand the framework in which we operate, benchmark best practices, and include voices and viewpoints from both within and outside our respective organizations. Ultimately, this first phase of the project will provide recommendations as to the best options for collaborating, including the anticipated benefits and challenges of each option."
Bay Windows spoke on Thursday with Cambridge Cares Executive Director John Gatto, who said that while the downturn in the economy has put some strain on HIV/AIDS service organizations, as it has on the non-profit sector more broadly, the decision to launch this initiative was not driven by the economy. Rather, he said it was born out of recognition that the current HIV/AIDS service delivery system was designed during the early days of the AIDS crisis, but the reality now faced by many people living with HIV/AIDS is quite different, as people live longer and the disease becomes more of a chronic illness.
"There are other disease-specific models and disease-specific services, so I think we have to look at HIV in a different sort of way, to look at it as a chronic disease and supporting people in the long term," said Gatto.
He said by early May, the end of the first phase of the initiative, New Sector Alliance will present the three organizations with options for collaboration. One option may involve merging some or all of the organizations.
"That could be an option. We feel like there’s probably a whole continuum of them, and at one end is the option that nothing changes. ...We might all go off on our way and say we’re all set for now. Or we may not," said Gatto.
Ethan Jacobs can be reached at ejacobs@baywindows.com
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