KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A local public health nonprofit is making free HIV testing more accessible to people in East Tennessee.
Staff at the Choice Health Network told 10News they hope this new program will help keep the community both safe and healthy.
"One of the ways to stop HIV and the spread of HIV is to know your status," Angela Bartlett, senior director of development and marketing, explained. "We want folks to get tested and know their status and protect themselves because we want people to have good health and feel empowered to have good health."
This program comes more than a year after the Tennessee Department of Health sent a letter to programs and organizations that receive grants from the state telling them that the state would stop taking federal funding to help pay for HIV surveillance, testing and prevention.
To get tested, you can visit the testing section at choicehealthnetwork.org. There you can fill out the online form and the prevention team at Positively Living will then prepare the testing kit and send it your way.
"It comes in discrete packaging," Bartlett said regarding the testing kits. "We are very concerned about one's privacy."
Once you receive the package you can get tested. The test is a simple mouth swab test and you can get your results in about 20 minutes.
"It can be daunting for folks to come into a clinic or this building and have that kind of test," Bartlett commented. "So we just really wanted to overcome barriers for people, if they cannot access transportation if they are very busy and they just need to do this at home; we wanted to be there for folks."
The staff at the Choice Health Network will check in with you via text, but you are not required to share your test results. Bartlett explained, though, they do want you to share your results if possible.
If you test negative, staff can share more information with you on prevention and provide you with options to stay safe. On the other hand, if you test positive for HIV, staff will set up a time for you to come into the office. Then you can start counseling and figure out a plan of action.
"It [HIV] is not nearly as scary as it used to be in the 80s and 90s," she added. "But it does not take away the fact that this is something you will live with the rest of your life, but because of medicine, people live long, very full and beautiful lives."
According to Bartlett, the at-home test is 99.98% accurate. She added you should wait 90 days after a potential exposure to do the at-home test. If you do want to get tested sooner, though, there are other options, like blood tests, for example.
If you prefer to get tested in person, you can visit the Choice Health Network Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can either call and make an appointment or just walk in.