LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), The US’ largest AIDS organization which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Central America and India, and operates the largest free alternative HIV testing program here in California, is pleased to announce the opening of two groundbreaking new Southern California health facilities intended to provide medical care and preventive education and outreach to a potentially vulnerable population: HIV-negative gay and bisexual men.
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AHF currently operates nine AHF Healthcare Centers in Southern California that provide a full spectrum of medical care and services to HIV positive individuals; these two new programs, which will be known as the Men’s Wellness Centers (MWC), will target the potentially at-risk population of gay & bisexual men. The Wellness Centers will operate out of AHF’s existing Hollywood and Westside Healthcare Centers two evenings per week at each location from 5:30pm to 9:00pm.
Men’s Wellness Centers: A New Kind of Clinic
Beginning in the spring of 2000, gay and bisexual men in L.A. County experienced a syphilis outbreak, and still bear more than 60% of the burden of early syphilis (in numbers of cases) in the County. In addition, a recent outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a strain of hard-to-treat medication-resistant bacteria, occurred in Los Angeles among people without traditional risk factors, including gay and bisexual men (the population that is also known to be most at risk for HIV infection). These factors underscored the need for innovative new approaches to health care delivery in Los Angeles County that targets such at-risk populations.
“Through these Men’s Wellness Centers, we intend to offer gay and bisexual men a welcoming place to go for medical care and services in an effort to encourage them to seek out and obtain routine health care and screenings on a regular basis,” said Karen Mall, Director of Prevention and Testing for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who will oversee the program. “We currently offer a wide range of STD/HIV testing and treatment services, free of charge, and we hope by offering routine care via these centers that we may also contribute to and reinforce risk reduction and preventive measures among a population of gay and bisexual men who may be at higher risk for HIV and STD exposure.”
AHF’s Men’s Wellness Centers offer convenient evening hours four nights per week at two locations: AHF Healthcare Center/Hollywood (Mon & Wed) and AHF Healthcare Center/Westside (Tues & Thurs). No appointment is needed, and the first hour of parking will be provided free.
AHF’s Men’s Wellness Centers offer: * FREE STD exam * FREE testing and treatment for Syphilis, Gonorrhea, & Chlamydia * FREE treatment for symptomatic Herpes & Genital Warts * FREE blood test for Hepatitis B * FREE combined Hepatitis A & B vaccine (while supplies last) * FREE while-you-wait rapid HIV testing: results given same visit * FREE testing and treatment for Giardia & other intestinal infections * FREE counseling & education on STD/HIV risk reduction
The Men’s Wellness Centers is a project of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Additional funding provided by Roche Laboratories and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
AHF’s Department of Prevention currently provides more than 15,000 free HIV tests each year in California through its innovative alternative-testing program via testing sites at locations throughout Southern California. In addition, AHF provides HIV and STD testing in the L.A. County jail system, in bathhouses and sex clubs (commercial sex venues) in greater Los Angeles as well as via two mobile testing vans.
A formal dedication ceremony for these two new Men’s Wellness Centers will take place later this year.
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CONTACT: Karen Mall, AHF Director of Prevention, work +1-323-468-2581,mobile +1-310-614-8262, or Ged Kenslea, AHF Communications Director,work +1-323-860-5225, mobile +1-323-791-5526