SARASOTA – The CDC reports Florida leads the nation in new HIV cases and CAN Community Health is taking action to help people get tested.
Besides leading in new HIV cases, Florida has the nation’s third highest infection rate, according to the CDC.
“It’s upsetting to see these numbers, absolutely and I’m afraid that we are going to see these numbers just because of the fact that medications are so easy to take, one pill a day, people are more relaxed, and you can’t stay relaxed, especially if we’re trying to end the epidemic by 2030,” said Interim President & CEO of CAN Community Health, Dr. Rishi Patel.
Dr. Rishi Patel says it’s important for everyone to be engaged in their health
“Education is prevention, and prevention is power, so it’s important that everyone gets tested, to know your status,” said Dr. Patel.
CAN Community health has even taken the extra steps to ensure HIV testing is accessible to all
“To the point that now we are mailing test kits to people’s homes, so that they can test in the comfort of their homes, it’s a very rapid test, 15 minutes an individual will have their results as well as there is information that they can tap into and call if their results are not favorable and they can get into services immediately,” said VP of Education at CAN Community Health, John Acevedo.
CAN also offers mobile testing across the Suncoast
“Were also enrolling people in our PREP program, which is a program where individuals take medication to prevent themselves from getting the HIV virus and were also educating online in our dating apps, where individuals can talk to an educator about all the DO’s and DON’T’s on how to protect themselves,” said Acevedo.
CAN hopes early prevention in youth will make a difference in the years to come
“Education is paramount and I feel it is a way we can provide all the necessary tools for our communities to ensure that they protect themselves from HIV,” said Acevedo.
For more information on CAN, and the services they offer, you can visit their website here.
