Do It Your Way: Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Offers Free Rapid HIV Testing on June 27
Contact: [email protected]
For Immediate Release: June 21, 2019
Walk-in to the PPSNE Health Center in Providence for a Free Test on National HIV Testing Day
(Providence, RI) –Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE) will offer free rapid HIV testing services at its health center in Providence on National HIV Testing Day, June 27, 2019. Rapid HIV tests are quick and simple and can provide results in as fast as 20 minutes.
National HIV Testing Day, organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encourages people to get tested for HIV and get the care, counseling and treatment they need to take charge of their health. The theme of this year’s event is “Doing it My Way” (#DoingItMyWay), reminding individuals to make regular HIV testing a part of their lives. The only way to know your status is to get tested. In the United States, more than 1.1 million people are living with HIV, and almost one in seven don’t know it.
There are approximately 2,600 people living with HIV in Rhode Island. The group most affected by HIV are gay and bisexual men—in Rhode Island, the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among men who have sex with men increased to more than 70% in the last five years. While Rhode Island has seen a nearly 50% decrease in new HIV diagnoses from 2006-2016, everyone is encouraged to know their status by getting tested.
“You cannot tell by looking at someone if they have HIV—the only way to know is to get tested. We invite all people who do not know their status to come for a free test,” said Dr. Timothy Spurrell, Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. “The sooner you know your status, the sooner you can get any treatment and information you might need. Early treatment can help prevent serious health problems in the future.”
To promote early detection, encourage healthy communities, and prevent the spread of HIV, PPSNE will be offering free rapid HIV tests at the Providence Health Center, 175 Broad Street, from 10 AM to 5:30 PM on Thursday, June 27, 2019. Just walk in or make an appointment at a convenient time. Everyone who gets tested on June 27 will receive a free giveaways, information, and safe sex supplies. Visit ppsne.org for more information.
PPSNE has 17 health centers in Connecticut and Rhode Island that offer many essential preventative services including HIV and STD/STI testing. HIV can be managed and HIV-positive individuals can live full lives if they know their status and take action to stay as healthy as possible. PPSNE also prescribes the HIV prevention medication pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) at all of its health centers.
Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s most trusted sources for accessible and high-quality health care for all people, including all FDA-approved birth control methods, abortion care, pregnancy testing and counseling, emergency contraception, cancer screenings, annual exams and more. We offer a sliding fee scale based on income and participate in many insurance plans. For convenience, online, walk-in, and same-day appointments are available.
To make an appointment or for more information, visit ppsne.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526).