Miriam, partners launch anti-STD campaign

PROVIDENCE – Working with the R.I. Department of Health, AIDS Project Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Public Health Institute The Miriam Hospital recently launched the Do It RIght: Get Tested for HIV and STDs campaign, led by Miriam’s Dr. Philip A. Chan.

Developed in response to high rates of STDs in Rhode Island, the campaign’s goal is to keep Rhode Islanders safe and healthy by providing them with information about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and to spread awareness about free testing and treatment services at The Miriam Hospital HIV/STD Clinic.

The number of people in Rhode Island with STDs has increased significantly in recent years. Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in Rhode Island and has increased by 24 percent since 2012; gonorrhea infections have risen 40 percent since 2010. Most new gonorrhea and chlamydia infections occur in individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years old and are largely concentrated in Providence County. Syphilis cases have increased more than 300 percent since 2006. These trends in Rhode Island reflect nationwide increases in STD rates.

In 2011, the only public STD clinic in the state of Rhode Island closed. Concerned about rising STD rates, Chan, an infectious diseases physician, opened a clinic offering free STD screening at The Miriam Hospital Immunology Center. Chan spends much of his time caring for patients without health insurance and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, who have been particularly heavily impacted.

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“Although these diseases can cause serious health problems, most of them are curable with antibiotics,” Chan said in a statement. “While we can’t cure HIV, people who take their medications can live long and healthy lives if they are diagnosed early. We hope that this campaign helps spread the word that we have created a welcoming environment for anyone in need of STD and HIV screening and care.”

The Miriam Hospital Immunology Center performs free, walk-in HIV/STD testing Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 1125 North Main St., in Providence. Do It RIght partner APRI performs free, walk-in service for rapid HIV testing on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. and Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at 9 Pleasant St., in Providence. With a rapid HIV test, results are available in 20 minutes. All testing is confidential.

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