AHF Opens Men’s Wellness Center in Oakland Offering Free HIV & STD Testing

On World AIDS Day, December 1^st, AIDS Healthcare Foundation will open its 11^th Men’s Wellness Center in the U.S. in Oakland, CA; site is designed to make screening for sexually transmitted diseases accessible and affordable, as well as promote sexual health as part of routine health care for all sexually active people

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will celebrate World AIDS Day 2012 on December 1^st by opening it’s 11^th Men’s Wellness Center in the U.S. AHF Men’s Wellness Centers offer a range of free sexually-transmitted disease (STD) screenings, including HIV testing and the centers are often housed alongside another AHF facility—usually an AHF Healthcare Center. This newest location, however, is at a specialized clinic in the Oakland ‘Out of the Closet’ Thrift Store at 238 E. 18^th Street in Oakland, California and will open on Monday and Saturday from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. Walk-ins are welcome. More information can be found at www.freeSTDcheck.org or by calling 510 251-8678.

“We are pleased to be opening this latest AHF Men’s Wellness Center in the Oakland area-offering free and low-cost services to the community”

AHF’s Men’s Wellness Centers are designed to make testing for STD’s accessible, convenient and affordable, as well as to encourage regular sexual health screenings as part of routine health care for all sexually-active people. Services offered include: free Chlamydia screening and treatment; free Gonorrhea screening and treatment; free Syphilis screening and treatment and free HIV testing.

“We are pleased to be opening this latest AHF Men’s Wellness Center in the Oakland area-offering free and low-cost services to the community,” said Dale Gluth, Associate Regional Director, Bay Area, AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Our hope is that by offering these services in a friendly, non-threatening venue that is also accessible and affordable, more people in the East Bay will consider health screenings a regular part of their health maintenance – like going to the gym and getting a yearly check-up at the dentist. There is effective treatment for most STD’s, so it truly is better to know your status – for your health and for the health of your partner or partners.”

The most recent Alameda County STD statistics show 7,132 Chlamydia cases and 1,952 Gonorrhea cases were reported and diagnosed. Notably, there is often a significant correlation of HIV infection reported alongside other STD’s.

In addition to the new Oakland, California location, AHF operates Men’s Wellness Centers in Los Angeles County. The organization also operates Wellness Centers in Florida and Washington D.C. More information and location information can be found at www.freeSTDcheck.org.

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 183,000 individuals in 27 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean Eastern Europe and Asia. Additional information is available at www.aidshealth.org