As the world honors the 35th World AIDS Day on Friday, Aurora this week honored the 30th anniversary of the Open Door Clinic on the city’s East Side.
The Open Door Clinic was first founded in Elgin in the 1970s, and soon opened its Aurora location in 1993.
Since then, it has provided education, prevention, diagnosis and treatment services to those who have, or are at risk for, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
The clinic also offers comprehensive health care for transgender patients and the LGBTQ community, officials said.
In presenting a mayoral certificate to Open Door Clinic officials this week, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin praised the clinic for being part of the “incredible progress in treating and preventing HIV/AIDS.”
Irvin also noted that “still not everyone has equal access to care, including (members of the) LGBTQ community, women, people of color.”
“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Perry Maier, Open Door Clinic executive director. “Health care is not just doctors. It’s having a house to live in, food to eat and access to treatment.”
Open Door has clinics at 157 S. Lincoln Ave., Aurora, and 1665 Larkin Ave., Elgin.
World AIDS Day was started on Dec. 1, 1988, to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and generate proper care and treatment for patients.
