D.A.P. offers education and incentives for National HIV Testing Day on Monday, June 27
Posted June 23rd, 2011 – Press Releases
Desert AIDS Project will mark National HIV Testing Day on Monday, June 27th with free and confidential HIV testing at both its Palm Springs and Indio locations.
Just prior to extended testing hours from 1:00 – 7:00 PM, the Palm Springs location at 1695 N. Palm Springs will offer an “HIV Awareness” luncheon for staff members of local senior living facilities. The aim of this lunch-and-learn session is to help attendees better understand the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS who come to them for services. The noon luncheon is being sponsored by Serenity Hospice, Palm Springs. Attendees will earn one hour of Continuing Education credit for attending.
At the Indio office of Desert AIDS Project, 81-880 Dr. Carreon Drive, Suite B-107, $10 gift cards will be given to all eligible people taking an HIV test and waiting for its results. All tests are free and confidential.
“With this first HIV/AIDS Awareness Day since we marked June 5th as the 30th anniversary of the first cases of AIDS being diagnosed in 1981, we hope lots of people will be encouraged to get tested for HIV,” said David Brinkman, CEO of Desert AIDS Project. “Let’s hope that in another 30 years we’re not looking back and dealing with these same issues. Knowing your HIV status is an important step in safeguarding your health and, possibly, the health of others that you love.”
Invitations have been extended for local, high profile individuals to be publicly tested for HIV.
In 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michele, were publicly tested for HIV in Kenya. Three years later, now-President Obama made a plea for the American public to know their HIV status. Watch the short video here.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/2009/June/20090627_HIV.mp4
Desert AIDS Project is the organization in our community where people living with HIV and AIDS can receive comprehensive support, including medical care, case management, and social services. D.A.P. also offers free and confidential HIV testing at a number of locations throughout the communities it serves. To learn more about Desert AIDS Project, please call 760-323-2118, visit www.desertaidsproject.org or find them on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.
AIDS @ 30: Testing wasn’t always an option
By John Lewis
Volunteer Co-Editor, Desert AIDS Project Community Action Newsletter
June 27, National HIV Testing Day, is an annual observance to promote HIV testing. As testing becomes more routine it’s easy to forget that 30 years ago a test for HIV hadn’t yet been invented.
When first discovered in 1981, AIDS, or GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency as it was known then), was a medical mystery. It wasn’t until 1983 when HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) was first identified and another two, very long years before the first antibody test was approved by the FDA. The creation of “the test” was considered a major milestone in the treatment and prevention of AIDS.
Since 1985, testing has improved from the ELISA test (where patients often had to wait a week or more for results) to rapid-result tests where results can be obtained in about 20 minutes. You can now even test in the privacy of your home. Such home tests, however, don’t offer the opportunity for pre- and post-test counseling about safer sex and high-risk practices.
Fortunately, Desert AIDS Project offers free and confidential HIV testing five days a week, at convenient locations throughout the area – including counseling.
If you would like to know more about the history behind HIV testing, the Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a fact sheet that you can view here.
