Free HIV testing at Dixie Village Shopping Center in Gastonia March 10

The Gaston County Health Department and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles County will offer Free HIV testing 2-7 p.m. Wednesday outside Compare Foods in Dixie Village Shopping Center, 2573 W. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia.

The test offered at this event will be a blood draw and a rapid finger stick. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is traveling the country to offer free, confidential HIV testing in each of the lower 48 states.

One in four people with HIV is unaware of his or her status, said Michelle Reese, coordinator of the health department’s Gaston HIV Outreach Program (GHOP). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends having an HIV test once a year, she said.

“HIV is not something people want to think about, but the fact is we’re all at risk, some more than others,” Reese said. “We hope to encourage more people to get tested during this event and make it a part of their annual health assessment.”

At the end of 2008, Gaston County ranked 38th out of the 100 North Carolina counties in terms of the number of HIV/AIDS cases reported from 2005 to 2007. GHOP collaborates with community agencies, houses of worship, businesses and individuals to reach people about how to avoid infection and present them with the opportunity to be tested.

For more information about GHOP or the free HIV testing on March 10, call Reese at 704-862-5374.

- Gaston Gazette
http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/hiv-44443-testing-free.html