Bloomington, Ind., AIDS Hospice to Close in December Due to Lack of Patients

Fox House, a five-unit apartment complex in Bloomington, Ind., designed as a hospice for people with AIDS, will close in December because "medical advances" have made its services "obsolete," the Associated Press reports. Only one of the apartments is currently occupied and the center does not intend to renew its lease on the building in December, according to David Carrico of the Center for Behavioral Health. The hospice has had "financial difficulties" since opening five years ago, failing to make money every year because of lack of patients. New medications have helped AIDS patients live longer, making for a "very exciting time" for those in the HIV/AIDS treatment and care field, Deb Wilkin, director of an area hospital HIV/AIDS department, said. She added that doctors and support staff must now "help our clients readjust to the idea of living, not dying" (Associated Press, 7/16).