Coastal Health will mark World AIDS Day by slashing budgets of frontline health organizations.
Under a phased review of expenditures, announced in August, 255 community health providers must cap their administrative costs at 10 per cent of funding.
To get under the cap, AIDS Vancouver, a support service for people living with HIV/AIDS, will have $263,000 hacked from $1.6 million in funding, effective Dec. 1.
AIDS Vancouver earmarks 25 per cent of VCH funding for administration, according to the health authority.
The problem, said AIDS Vancouver executive director David Swan, is his administrators do more than shuffle papers. “Absolutely, this is going to have an impact on our agency,” he said. “VCH completely pays for our casemanagement program.
“Our other programs, like the grocery program, our support program, prevention and education – they only pay a part of. So, in order to make up the loss what we need to do is transfer donor dollars out of those programs.” VCH spokesperson Anna Marie D'Angelo said her agency has taken the same steps, allocating 9.1 per cent of its budget to administration.
“We could’ve gone in there and cut things left right and centre, but we went in there trying to find savings,” she said. “Our focus is always trying to have resources going to client care.”
Swan is in negotiations with VCH to ensure they can reach the 10 per cent target without damaging the agency or irreparably diminishing services.
