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South Florida Blade: AHF Opens Clinic in Ft. Lauderdale
Free clinic provides services for men
By: Dmitry Rashnitsov , South Florida Blade
Ft. Lauderdale, FL - September 15, 2009
In the fight against rising HIV and STD infection rates, Broward County is putting up a strong battle thanks to added help from one of the largest national AIDS non-profit organizations.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has opened a Men’s Wellness Center, 6405 N. Federal Highway, to provide free HIV and STD screenings and treatment for all walk-in patients.
AHF currently operates a thrift store and pharmacy on Wilton Drive.
“As AHF expands its roster of health care services in Florida, we are proud to offer targeted men’s wellness services at our Northpoint Healthcare Center in Ft. Lauderdale,” said Michael Kahane, AHF Bureau Chief for the Southern Region. “Like all of the programs offered by AHF’s Public Health Division, the Men’s Wellness Center is designed to increase awareness, reduce risk and, if necessary, provide linkage to treatment services. It is comprehensive care in one location—a kind of ‘one-stop shopping’ for all one’s sexual health care needs.”
The Broward County Health Department (BCHD) offers a similar clinic on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings strictly for men who have sex with men, but the new AHF clinic is currently open from 5-7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, and all men are welcome.
The Northpoint Healthcare Center is a doctor’s office that offers men's health care check-ups, medical treatment and prevention care. They accept 15 different insurers, however all services performed at the after hours clinic are free. Doctors and medical assistants from Northpointe will staff the clinic along with two HIV testing counselors and a receptionist.
AHF is opening the Fort Lauderdale clinic location after a successful run of the same program in West Hollywood, California.
“We were packed in L.A.,” said James Vellequette, regional manager for the southern bureau of AHF. “Part of it is that the services are free and confidential. Also when dealing with a medical issue like this, most people would rather receive care in an environment where people don’t personally know them.”
According to the BCHD nearly 16,000 people are currently living in Broward County with HIV, some of whom have developed AIDS. 575 new cases of people testing HIV-positive occurred in Broward in the first seven months of 2009.
AHF officials are confident the new clinic will provide a safe and easy location for men to insure they take preventative steps against STD infections and accommodate healthiness.
“It is our that hope that the convenience and accessibility of the AHF’s new Men’s Wellness Center will encourage men in the community to get tested for HIV and other STDs as part of their routine health maintenance,” said Whitney Engeran-Cordova, Director of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Public Health Division. “The Center is also part of AHF’s ongoing effort to normalize and routinize HIV and STD screening, removing the stigma and making regular testing as much a part of taking care of oneself as going to the gym, taking vitamins or eating healthy food.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), men who have sex with men account for 71% of all HIV infections in the U.S. In the 1990’s, the rate of infection decreased among men who have sex with men, but due to high-risk behaviors this group has risen steadily in recent years.
Vellequette also said that the latest BCHP statistics show a 30 percent rise in syphilis outbreaks this year and is strongly encouraging anyone who has had unprotected sex to come to the clinic to get tested.
Worldwide, AHF has a staff of more than 800 people in 30 countries participating in healthcare, community outreach and advocacy for those that are unable to pay for HIV care. They help about 100,000 people per year and in 2008 spent $162 million on operations, while staffing 14 healthcare centers and 11 pharmacies, including $99 million on medical supplies and prescription drugs.
In Florida, AHF serves more than 10,000 people living with HIV/AIDS through a variety of programs, including Positive Healthcare (a statewide disease management program), Positive Healthcare Managed Care, testing and prevention programs, healthcare centers in Jacksonville, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, and AHF Pharmacies.
AHF’s Men’s Wellness Clinic is equipped to handle 25 patients per night, and as demand grows, the staff plans on expanding clinic hours and days services are offered. No appointment is necessary to receive treatment.
- South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/9-10/news/localnews/6260.cfm
