Beginning on National HIV
Testing Day on Wednesday, June 27 and continuing through Friday, June 29,
2012, Gay Men's Health Crisis and Harlem United Community AIDS Center will
provide FREE [rapid oral] HIV testing at six Walgreens stores in New York
City, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The rapid HIV test takes
approximately 20 to 40 minutes to administer and process. Test results will
be delivered by the local AIDS service organization providing the testing on
site.
HIV testing is being provided by health
departments and local AIDS service organizations at select Walgreens stores
in 20 markets across the nation as part of an ongoing collaboration between
Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, and Greater Than AIDS, a
coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the
domestic epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
(CDC) Act Against AIDS initiative and the National Association of People
Living with HIV/AIDS, the official sponsor of National HIV Testing Day, also
are supporting the effort.
GMHC will provide free HIV testing
at the following Walgreens stores in New York City on the following dates and
store locations:
Wednesday, June
27
Thursday, June 28 and Friday, June 29
Harlem United will provide free HIV testing at the following Walgreens stores in New York City on the following dates and store locations:
Wednesday, June
27 to Friday, June 29
Of the more than 1.2 million people
living with HIV in the U.S. today, an estimated one in five, or nearly a
quarter of a million people, do not know it. One-third of those who are
positive are diagnosed so late in the course of their infection they develop
AIDS within one year. Early diagnosis and treatment helps save lives and is
known to reduce the spread of HIV. The CDC encourages everyone to know their
status.
"The expanded offering of testing at
these stores is a crucial measure, both for people who do not know their
status and for those at risk of HIV," said Marjorie Hill, PhD, CEO of
GMHC. "Being offered an HIV test at these stores will also decrease
HIV-related stigma. We are proud to partner with Walgreens, Greater Than
AIDS, Harlem United and DOHMH to increase opportunities for testing which
will allow more New Yorkers to take charge of their health, and access the
treatment and care they need."
"Harlem United is excited to be a
part of this initiative, which is a natural extension of our geographical and
zone-based approach to universal HIV testing in East and Central
Harlem," said Steven C. Bussey, CEO of Harlem United Community AIDS
Center. "We firmly believe in increasing testing accessibility by
bringing testing services to the community through as many sites as possible.
The partnership with Walgreens, Greater than AIDS and our local ally
--GMHC--is a great way to continue this effort."
In total, 47 Walgreens stores in 20
markets across the nation are participating, including stores in the
following cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New
York, Oakland, Calif., Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington,
D.C. and West Palm Beach, Fla. An additional 138 Walgreens stores
in the participating communities will help publicize the free testing
provided by local health departments or AIDS service organizations through
in-store messaging, including posters, post cards and in-store audio.
Walgreens also will promote National HIV Testing Day with special messages on
June 27 on its Times Square digital display, the largest billboard of its
kind in the country.
"These testing events provide
valuable and vital opportunities to help the communities we serve," said
Glen Pietrandoni, Walgreens Senior Manager of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.
"Walgreens has supported people living with HIV/AIDS since the beginning
of the epidemic through its ability to offer accessible pharmacy, health and
wellness guidance to patients, wherever they live. Our pharmacists are
developing relationships, listening to concerns and providing education and
support."
This marks the second year in a row that
Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS have coordinated with local health
departments and AIDS service organizations to allow them to provide free HIV
testing at select Walgreens stores. This year, more than twice the number of
Walgreens stores and markets will participate. More than 50 participating
health departments and AIDS service organizations are providing the testing
and delivering results on site, as well as supporting outreach.
"Greater Than AIDS is about
communities working together to achieve a greater goal. This is a powerful example
of what can be achieved when the public and private sector come together in
response to HIV/AIDS," said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and
Director, Health Communication and Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family
Foundation, a founding partner of Greater Than AIDS.
Throughout the year, Walgreens and
Greater Than AIDS distribute HIV informational resources and services at more
than 550 Walgreens pharmacies in heavily affected communities. Designated by
Walgreens as "Centers of Excellence," these stores have
specially-trained pharmacists on hand to offer one-on-one medication
counseling and other support services that provide customers living with
HIV/AIDS--and their families--with compassionate, confidential care.
For more information, including participating
Walgreens stores in each city, visit:
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Gay Men's Health
Crisis
GMHC is a not-for-profit,
volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national
leadership in the fight against AIDS. We provide prevention and care
services to men, women and families that are living with, or affected by,
HIV/AIDS in New York City. We advocate for scientific, evidence-based
public health solutions for hundreds of thousands worldwide. For
more information, please visit www.gmhc.org.
Greater Than AIDS
Greater Than AIDS is an
unprecedented coalition of public and private sector partners united in
response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States, in particular
disproportionately affected groups. Through media campaigns and
targeted community outreach, Greater Than AIDS works to increase knowledge
and understanding about HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the
disease, while promoting actions to prevent its spread.
The Kaiser Family Foundation -- a leader in health policy and communications -- provides strategic direction and day-to-day management, as well as oversees the production of the media campaign. The Black AIDS Institute -- a think tank exclusively focused on AIDS in Black America -- provides leadership and expert guidance and directs community engagement. Greater Than AIDS is developed in support of Act Against AIDS, an effort by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to refocus attention on the domestic epidemic. Additional, financial and substantive support is provided by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation and MAC AIDS Fund, among others. www.greaterthan.org.
Harlem United
Community AIDS Center
Founded in 1988, Harlem
United Community AIDS Center (HU) provides a full range of medical, social,
and supportive services to predominantly African-American and Latino
individuals living with HIV and AIDS, whose diagnoses are often complicated
by addiction, mental illness, and homelessness. Harlem United's mission
is to provide full access to quality HIV and AIDS care in order to obtain
zero disparities in health outcomes. HU's community-based health and
HIV prevention program employs a two-pronged strategy to educate the Harlem
community about their HIV status. One track targets HIV testing to
populations that are disproportionately at risk for HIV, while a second track
offers HIV screening and other preventive services block-by-block to persons
who may be at risk but are unaware. www.harlemunited.org.
Walgreens
As the nation's largest
drugstore chain with fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com)
vision is to become America's first choice for health and daily living. Each
day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient,
multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted,
cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in
communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes
retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with
respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs
for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems,
pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 7,855
drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take
Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most
comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store
convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the
country.
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