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For Man With HIV, Victory is Bittersweet
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AARP
"Today is the 22nd anniversary of World AIDS Day, and Robert Franke, 77, can attest that the stigma attached to AIDS and HIV remains strong.
"A retired college provost and former minister confronting a host of medical problems, Franke moved from Michigan to Little Rock, Ark., in 2009 to be closer to his daughter, Sara Bowling.
"Together they picked out an upscale assisted living facility, Fox Ridge, close to Bowling's home... 'The administrator and the head nurse started to cry,' Bowling, 46, recalls of her visit. 'They said they were really sorry, but we don't take people with HIV.' They said, 'We don't know how to tell you this, but your father can't stay here. ... Bowling and Franke filed a discrimination claim against Fox Ridge in U.S. District Court. The company settled the lawsuit in September, following an unsuccessful attempt to dismiss the case with an argument that it ejected Franke in a bid to comply with an Arkansas health care law."