YNOT – AIM Medical Associates PC, the original and primary provider of the monthly health screenings performers need in order to work for most adult entertainment producers, has closed. Sharon Mitchell, a former porn star who founded the clinic in 1998, said “financial hardship” led to the operation’s demise. She has declined to comment further.
In addition, the agency’s secure online database of performers’ health status has been removed from the web.
The main clinic in Sherman Oaks, Calif., had been closed for new testing since April 11, when a notice appeared on the operation’s website stating, “AIM is closed this week for remodeling. Please call our office for test results. For testing please use our online testing services.”
Originally known as Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, AIM has been under increasing attack from mainstream HIV-AIDS advocacy and testing organization AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has accused AIM of endangering the public health by tacitly approving some adult studios’ condom-less policies. Both organizations are based in Los Angeles, which since mid-2010 has become a lightning rod for controversy as California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health considers requiring condom usage on all porn film sets.
In December, AHF accused AIM of negligence after a 24-year-old male performer who participated in both gay and straight films was diagnosed with HIV. The performer, Derrick Burts, revealed his identity and leveled accusations of failure to protect performers and lying about the source of his infection at both AIM and the adult industry as a whole.
Days later, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health shut down AIM’s primary clinic in Sherman Oaks, Calif., citing a licensing problem. The clinic reopened Feb. 3 with a new name, licensed and under oversight by the California Medical Board.
In April, the website PornWikiLeaks.com began publishing adult industry performers’ personal information, including real names and addresses, and rumors immediately circulated that someone associated with the site had hacked AIM’s online database in order to gain access to the info. Mitchell since has said much of the information exposed at PornWikiLeaks could have been obtained from AIM’s database, as the organization never made that data available. Adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition is assisting performers harmed by the leak.
FSC also has stepped in to assist performers in finding reliable alternative testing services. An emergency meeting of the organization’s board of directors is scheduled for Wednesday. In the meantime, many performers working in the Greater Los Angeles area are using Talent Testing Service, which also offers testing through a network of draw stations nationwide.
“Our hearts go out to AIM and its dedicated staff,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said. “We know that it has been a very difficult time for them. Rest assured that FSC is committed to making sure that the industry and its performers are well-protected.”
On April 29, FSC conducted three separate meetings for producers, agents and performers to gather feedback and discuss options with industry stakeholders. Duke said the meetings accomplished their agenda: gathering suggestions from industry members about which options to pursue and for taking action.
FSC has been working with Cal/OSHA to develop industry appropriate regulations for adult production sets. The next Cal/OSHA committee meeting addressing regulations for the adult industry will take place June 7 in Los Angeles. The meeting, at the CalTrans Building, 100 Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, is open to the public.
