Former AIDS Arms CEO Raeline Nobles gets started on the demolition work at the agency’s South Dallas clinic as the evolution from AIDS Arms to Prism Health begins.
(Dallas Voice file photo)

DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com

As Prism Health NTX prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary May 15-16, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at the history of one of North Texas’ pioneering AIDS service organizations and how it has grown and evolved into a broader role in LGBTQ+ health care.

The agency was originally called AIDS Access to Resources for Mobilization of Services Network. That was soon shortened to AIDS ARMS Network and what the acronym stood for was quickly forgotten.

When it was founded, AIDS ARMS focused mainly on case management for clients who were accessing services at Resource Center, which had been founded just a few months earlier, and Oak Lawn Counseling Center, which was already a couple of years old at the time.

AIDS Interfaith Network also began providing some services that year, while AIDS Services Dallas was still a couple of years off as was Legacy Cares.

Today, Prism Health provides primary care for persons living with — and without — HIV, although HIV care remains a specialty in the organization’s four Dallas clinics. The agency serves 17,000 people from around North Texas, with Uptown Physicians Group providing general primary care with a specialty in infectious diseases and HIV prevention.

When Dr. John Carlo took over as Prism Health North Texas CEO, he moved the Peabody Clinic to a larger space and added
a pharmacy

The agency’s founder and first executive director was Buck Buckingham. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, he created one of the first demonstration projects for AIDS care.

AIDS ARMS’ efforts in coordinating case management for people dealing with AIDS was vital, because in Dallas, the different agencies provided complimentary services rather than competing with each other as was commonly seen in other cities.

Buckingham’s work is credited with helping establish the Ryan White Care Act that still funds a variety of programs and medications for people living with HIV/AIDS. And while distribution of Ryan White money is now done on a county or regional level, Buckingham was put in charge of distribution of funds in North Texas for the first several years of the program’s operation.

Buckingham left Dallas in the early 1990s to work in the Ryan White program in D.C.
AIDS ARMS biggest growth spurt came in 2000, when OLCS was closing its doors and distributing its programs to other agencies. OLCS’ Howie Daire Day Care facility and the Care-a-Van service that got people to doctor appointments and the food pantry went to AIDS Interfaith Network. LifeWalk went to AIDS ARMS, along with the Buddy Project, counseling and education programs.

In 2001, AIDS ARMS opened the Peabody Clinic in South Dallas, blocks away from what is now Abounding Prosperity. The medical office was opened in response to the rising number of HIV cases among the Black community.

By the early 2000s, drugs to suppress HIV had become more readily available and were less toxic than the original medications from the late 1990s. But the new meds were unaffordable to most people without insurance. So AIDS ARMS got busy applying to programs like ADAP, which funded drugs, for its clients.

Under CEO Raeline Nobles, the executive offices moved into the tower on Jefferson Boulevard, and its low rise building was turned into a medical office and a drug store specializing in HIV meds.

The formula was so successful, that Dr. John Carlo, a medical doctor who succeeded Nobles as CEO, moved Peabody to a larger space in South Dallas and added a pharmacy.

And in the 2010s and ’20s two more clinics were added — in Oak Lawn on Lemmon Avenue near Central Expressway, and in East Dallas near Baylor Hospital.

Then in 2019, Uptown Physicians Group, one of the largest private medical practices with a large number of LGBTQ+ patients, both with and without HIV, merged with the by-then-renamed Prism Health North Texas.

In addition to four health centers and three pharmacies, Prism Health now also offers two dental clinics.

As AIDS Arms has evolved into Prism Health North Texas, the agency has expanded its health care services beyond just AIDS/HIV care (Photo courtesy of Prism Health North Texas)

Since 2024, the agency’s health centers have achieved Federally Qualified Health Center Look-alike status, allowing them to serve a broader spectrum of clients. That includes new outreach to pediatric patients.

Several other programs have been cornerstones in Prism Health, providing a wide range of healthcare programs. A program unique to Prism Health is its Free World Bound, for people who are ethnic minorities living with or at risk for contracting HIV and who are currently or previously in prison.

Caseworkers provide HIV testing and linkage to medical care as well as referral to services that are available through the network of agencies serving people living with HIV. The program also provides food and clothing, housing and transportation and emergency financial assistance where needed and helps see to transitional needs for those currently incarcerated.

Project STEP helps clients working through both substance abuse and other health challenges, like HIV or hepatitis. The program offers support groups as well as individual peer coaching. Treatment includes medical as well as behavioral health services.

Let’s Hang Out is hosted by Empowerment Connection and offers free events in a safe and sober space once a month at Prism Health’s Oak Cliff center.

And Prism Health is involved in clinical trials. (Full disclosure: I participated in a COVID vaccine trial at Prism Health for a vaccine that was never approved in the U.S. but was used in many countries around the world. Whether it worked or not, I don’t know for sure, but I never did contract COVID.)

Celebrating the anniversary
Two events are scheduled this month to commemorate Prism’s 40th anniversary and support the agency’s future.

On Friday, May 15, the “Forty & Forward” fundraiser will be held from 7-10 p.m. at The Empire Room, 1225 N. Riverfront Blvd. This will be a high-energy, cocktail-style celebration featuring music and entertainment to raise funds to expand pediatric and specialized care.

Tickets are $140-400, available through the agency’s website, PHNTX.org.

Then on Saturday, May 16, Prism Health hosts “Care on the Block,” a community event from 4-7 p.m. at the South Dallas Health Center, 4922 Spring Ave. It will offer food, music, games and health screenings. The event is free, but registration on the Prism Health NTX website is requested.

And several events are planned through the rest of the year: The Clover Classic putt-putt tournament on Cedar Springs Road is scheduled for Aug. 22. And although LifeWalk as a walkathon doesn’t happen any longer, the Miss LifeWalk pageant, set for Oct. 5, keeps the LifeWalk legacy alive.

Finally, the Care on the Rocks fundraising cocktail party is planned for Nov. 5. Watch for details on upcoming events throughout the year and visit PHNTX.org for more information.

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