What was previously one of Bangor’s largest service providers for people living with HIV, grappling with substance use disorder or experiencing homelessness is closing its doors for good.
The Health Equity Alliance, commonly referred to as HEAL, had been providing medical case management for roughly 135 people living with HIV under a subcontract with the Regional Medical Center at Lubec. For months, it was the organization’s only function, but with that gone, HEAL will shutter, Josh D’Alessio, HEAL’s executive director, said.
“That’s it — that’s the only service line that we had,” D’Alessio said. “Now we shut the door, sadly.”
The final closure comes after months of financial turbulence for the nonprofit, which forced the organization to halt its state certified syringe exchange, shut down its Bangor community center and furlough most of its staff.
The organization’s funding issues began last year when I Care, a Fort Fairfield-based pharmacy that was responsible for a large portion of HEAL’s funding, “dropped the ball” on its roughly $400,000 contract with the organization, D’Alessio said. This meant monthly payments the nonprofit relied on arrived late or sometimes not at all.
“We’re budgeted on that revenue, so every month they were late was another month I had to call our vendors and say we were going to be late on payments,” D’Alessio said. “Being stretched out for so long waiting for funds that never came destroyed us.”
At the end of August 2024, I Care closed suddenly, D’Alessio said, which triggered other financial losses for HEAL.
After that, D’Alessio said the “shakiness” of HEAL “spooked” the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, causing it to pull its contract with HEAL. Then, the organization lost its contract with Bangor to operate its community center.
The financial woes and slow unraveling of HEAL’s services led the organization to lose its business insurance two weeks ago, D’Alessio said. Without insurance, the nonprofit can’t operate, forcing HEAL to close.
“I’m truly grateful to the community that supported us through this,” D’Alessio said. “Bangor is a strong, vibrant and close-knit place.”
The demise of an organization that serves the region’s most vulnerable residents happened in tandem with an ongoing HIV outbreak in Penobscot County.
Since October 2023, 23 people in Penobscot County have tested positive for HIV. All of the newly diagnosed people reported injecting drugs within a year of testing positive.
The case managers who were working for HEAL are now transferring to Regional Medical Center at Lubec, D’Alessio said. This means very little will change for the patients who receive case management services.
“I’m sad that a 37-year-old entity is closing, but everything has cycles,” D’Alessio said. “It’s time for someone to pick up the ball now.”
The nonprofit was based in Bangor but had locations in Ellsworth, Presque Isle and Machias, according to the organization’s website.
In May, Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness will move its syringe exchange and other harm reduction services into HEAL’s old Bangor space at 304 Hancock St.
Tom McDonald, CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Lubec, did not return requests for comment on Friday.
