AIDS Healthcare Foundation Opens 'Men's Wellness Center' in Ft. Lauderdale
Walk-In Clinic to Provide Free, Confidential Sexual Health Services— Including HIV and STD Testing and Treatment—in One Convenient Location
By: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ft. Lauderdale, FL - July 15, 2009
On Thursday, July 16th, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will open a Men's Wellness Center at AHF NorthPoint Healthcare Center in Ft. Lauderdale, to provide free, confidential and comprehensive sexual health services—including HIV and STD (sexually-transmitted disease) testing and treatment—in one convenient location. This walk-in clinic is based on a successful model of service pioneered by AHF at its Hollywood Healthcare Center in Los Angeles. The AHF NorthPoint Men’s Wellness Center located at 6405 N. Federal Hwy., Suite 205 in the Imperial Point Hospital Medical Office Building, will offer free HIV and STD screenings and treatment, as well as treatment for syphilis, gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Hours of service are Monday and Thursday, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 PM. No appointment is necessary.
“As AHF expands its roster of health care services in Florida, we are proud to offer targeted men’s wellness services at AHF NorthPoint Healthcare Center in Ft. Lauderdale,” said Michael Kahane, AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Bureau Chief, 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 of one’s sexual health care needs.”
Palm cards that have been distributed in South Florida about the new service emphasize the convenience factor and encourage regular screening for STDs as part of a person’s regular health maintenance routine. “Getting regular STD screening is just another part of leading a healthy, active lifestyle. At the Men’s Wellness Center, you can get a full battery of sexual health tests all in one location. It’s completely free and confidential. It couldn’t be easier, so come in today.”
“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.”
In Florida, AIDS Healthcare Foundation 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 Out of the Closet Thrift Store in Wilton Manors offers free HIV testing and treatment referral through an AHF Pharmacy built adjacent to the store.
