Have a toothache or a broken ankle? Going for your annual checkup? You could be offered an HIV test at your next visit to a dentist, hospital emergency room or doctor in Westchester, no matter why you're there.
To help in the fight against AIDS, a persistent public health problem in the county, a new task force launched a three-year campaign, "Westchester Knows'' at a news conference Monday at Renaissance Fountain in White Plains.
The Westchester Knows task force is committed to ensuring that everyone 18 and over knows his or her HIV status and that all health care partners assist in that endeavor. The 16-member task force plans to increase the number of adults in Westchester who know their HIV status by encouraging more residents to get an HIV test when they seek medical care and encouraging more providers to offer HIV tests routinely to their adult patients.
Several residents who are HIV-positive spoke from personal experience about how a simple HIV test changed their lives and about the importance of getting tested and staying safe. Former Knicks point guard Howard Eisley and The Rev. James Hassell of Kingdom Baptist Church in Yonkers demonstrated how easy it is to get an HIV test. Free rapid HIV tests were provided to the public by Westchester Medical Center and Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic.
The task force includes health centers, hospitals, faith-based organizations, community groups, educational institutions, HIV test kit manufacturers and public health officials from Westchester County and New York State.
"If we wait for people to come to us and ask for an HIV test, we and they will lose precious time,'' said Trina Hiemcke, director of education and prevention for AIDS Related Community Services, a task force member whose agency offers free HIV tests. "Many people in Westchester are being diagnosed late, so they miss out on treatment that can delay the onset of AIDS and extend their lives.
Since they don't know they have the disease, they may also be spreading it to others through unsafe practices. That's why it's so important for everyone 18 and over to get tested, know their HIV status and stay safe.''
Westchester County has the most people living with HIV and AIDS statewide, apart from New York City, with 1,294 people living with HIV and 2,545 people living with AIDS as of December 2007. Westchester also has the highest rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV, at 140 per 100,000.
The CDC estimates that one in five people who have HIV don't know they are infected. This lack of awareness contributes to the spread of AIDS, especially by the newly infected, whose viral load initially is extremely high. Studies have shown that people who learn they are HIV positive are more likely to reduce their chances of transmitting HIV to others.
"Women now make up nearly 40 percent of all AIDS cases in Westchester,'' said Dr. Cheryl Archbald, Acting Commissioner of Health for Westchester County. "That's up from 16 percent in 1987. In addition, the number of HIV and AIDS cases in individuals 50 years of age and older has increased. As HIV affects individuals of different races/ethnicities and socioeconomic status, it is important for health professionals to offer HIV tests to all adults 18 years of age and older, not just to patients who they think might be at risk.''
"HIV and AIDS are devastating to our community, which is why I'm speaking out,'' said the Rev. Sandra Comerie-Smith, M.D., M. P.H., of Dixon AME Zion Church in Yonkers. "I urge my fellow pastors to speak from the pulpit about the need for all adults to get an HIV test. More than 48 percent of HIV and AIDS cases are among African-Americans in Westchester and the Hispanic community accounts for another 28 percent of all cases.''
The task force hopes to increase the number of people who are tested for HIV in Westchester by encouraging health professionals to offer HIV tests as part of their routine patient care, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has recommended for the past several years. Health centers and hospitals that are members of the task force have committed to increasing the percentage of HIV tests they give 25 percent in the first 12 months of their three-year campaign. The task force also plans to reach out to new medical partners, community groups, insurance companies and major employers.
National HIV Testing Day is on June 27, and free HIV tests will be offered at a variety of sites around the county throughout this week. For more information on where to get an HIV test, go to www.westchestergov.com/health or call 211.
Task force members are from Hudson River HealthCare, St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, Westchester Medical Center, Mount Vernon Hospital/Sound Shore Medical Center, Open Door Family Medical Center in Ossining, Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center, The Sharing Community, AIDS Related Community Services, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, Dixon AME Zion Church in Yonkers, Orasure Technologies, Inverness Medical Innovations, City of Mount Vernon, New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, Westchester County Department of Health, and the AIDS Institute at the New York State Department of Health.
Photo: Dr. Cheryl Archbald, WCHDOH Acting Commissioner; Denise Garcia Egan, OraSure Technologies; Howard Eisley, NY Knicks Basketball; Serene Mastrianni, OraSure Technologies and Christopher Mastrianni