ORLANDO, Fla. – A new healthcare center opening in Orlando aims to decrease the time between an HIV/AIDS diagnosis and a treatment start.
The less time between a diagnosis and treatment is proven to help people living with HIV live a healthier life, AIDS Healthcare Foundation spokesman Imara Canady told News 6.
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"Our overarching goal, if you test positive today, to get you linked to care within 72 hours," Canady said.
A ribbon cutting ceremony for the Orlando healthcare center will be held Tuesday evening at the new location at 1701 N. Mills Avenue. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and City Councilwoman Patty Sheehan will host the ceremony starting at 6 p.m.
AHF aims to decrease the number of HIV/AIDS cases by providing free testing, immediate care and support services like counseling. An on-site pharmacy will employee pharmacists who specialist in HIV-AIDS medications, according to a news release.
“By making pharmacy services available adjacent to our AHF Healthcare Center, we strive to make accessing the lifesaving medications our patients need as convenient as possible to encourage adherence to their treatment regimens and drive down the rates of new HIV infections in the region,” AHF chief pharmacy officer Scott Carruthers said.
A mobile unit will also offer testing to surrounding counties. Canady said people could look out for the van around Central Florida. The mobile unit will pop up at bars and clubs, to hopefully making normalize testing and de-stigmatize it.
"Sometimes you may not be as likely or willing to go to a healthcare center," Canady said. "We basically bring the services to you."
AHF provides its services regardless of a person's ability to pay. The GLBT Center and Planned Parenthood also offer free testing in Orange County. Six healthcare facilities near Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties offer HIV/AIDS treatment for people regardless of payment, according to the Orange County government.
The global nonprofit relies on funding from a network of pharmacies, thrift stores, healthcare contract and partnerships, according to its website. For every dollar earned at the new pharmacy, 96 cents will support AHF's global HIV/AIDS services.
Fulfilling an 'unmet need'
While there are other HIV-focused healthcare facilities around Orange County and Orlando the new clinic is targeting an area of need, Canady said.
[At the bottom of this story, see Orlando and Orange County HIV numbers]
“Our goal is always to be of service to the community, where we know there is an unmet need,” Canady said.
Florida is among only four other states; Georgia, Maryland and New York, that have more than 561 newly diagnosed HIV cases per year. Florida is the state with the third most new cases, according to the 2014 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national HIV surveillance database and maps complied by AIDSVu.
Orange County is third in the state for HIV cases, according to the Florida Department of Health. In 2015, there were more than 11,000 people in Orlando living with HIV, according to AIDSVu.
Canaday said even if a city or state is in the top 20 it is considered bad.
“Overall as a national landscape, that’s when you know we have a red flag,” Canady said.
Diagnoses of HIV are still more likely in the minority communities, according to the CDC. Black men receive 3.4 times more HIV diagnoses than white men and black women are more than 15 times more than their white counterparts.
Those numbers reflect in the LatinX and the Hispanic communities, too. The rate of Hispanic/Latina females living with an HIV diagnosis is 4.6 times that of white female and Hispanic/Latino males living with an HIV diagnosis is 1.6 times that of white males, according to AIDSVu.
The clinic will offer appointments Monday- Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Patients can call ahead at 407-204-7000.