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The Department of Health’s STD/HIV/TB Program is partnering with local and Caribbean region businesses and organizations to provide free HIV testing beginning Friday, June 24, 2011, to commemorate National HIV Testing Day.
The free testing, which will be conducted through June 27, is in collaboration with the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV (PANCAP), Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV and AIDS (CBMP) and Scotia Bank.
Lavida-Joseph Brown, STD/HIV/TB Prevention Coordinator, said that local businesses, government agencies, community centers and church groups to include Seaborne Islands, Division of Personnel, Department of Human Services, Contant Knolls Community Center, Moravian Church and Speak the Word Ministry are providing venues for the free testing. The Health Department’s mobile van units will also be at various sites to provide discreet testing, she said.
Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Marc Jerome is urging residents to show up and in line with the annual theme to “Take the Test. Take Control” of their lives by knowing their status.
“We encourage everyone to take advantage of this joint effort to promote awareness, not just locally but in the Caribbean Region as a whole, in line with the ongoing theme to ‘take ” Dr. Jerome said.
Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is recognized annually on June 8 while National HIV Testing Day is observed on June 27.
Adrian Edwards, a Disease Intervention Specialist with the Department of Health, said that testing is critical because HIV is no longer an automatic death sentence, thus, many do not take the risks associated with HIV infection seriously.
“Many believe that they cannot get HIV and so testing is important and practicing safer sex is even more important,” he said. “We can turn this trend around by first protecting ourselves by practicing safer sex, knowing the HIV status of our partners and more importantly our own status.”
Residents can also schedule testing by calling a local STD/HIV/TB clinic at 340-774-3168 on St. Thomas and 340-773-1311 Ext. 3061 on St. Croix. The event schedule is as follows:
REGIONAL/NATIONAL HIV DAY TESTING SCHEDULE
St. Thomas:
Friday, June 24th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Scotia Bank, Havensight Mall
Saturday, June 25th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Contant Knolls Community Center
Sunday, June 26th, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Nisky Moravian Church
Parking Lot area Monday, June 27th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
GERS Building (3rd Flr) – Division of Personnel
St. Croix:
Friday, June 24th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Scotia Bank, Sunny Isle
Saturday, June 25th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Frederiksted Fish Market; Watergut Shanty
Sunday, June 26th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Speak the Word Ministry
Monday, June 27th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Seaborne Airlines, Christiansted Terminal |
