Montgomery County will begin offering HIV and STI testing at a new clinic in Germantown, Maryland, starting Monday.
Beth Beck, HIV/STI Preventive Program Manager with Montgomery County鈥檚 Department of Health and Human Services, said she knows it鈥檚 not easy for anyone to walk into a clinic setting to get tested for sexually transmitted infections.
Patients, she said, 鈥渁re scared to go into a clinic setting, especially when you have something that鈥檚 itching and scratching in a place you don鈥檛 want to talk about!鈥�
But staff at the new Germantown clinic want people to feel comfortable about getting tested, she said.
“That鈥檚 why we try to be as welcoming, and try to reduce those barriers, as much as possible,” Beck said.
The opening at the Upcounty Services Center in Germantown will be the second facility to offer HIV and STI testing. The other is at the county鈥檚 Dennis Avenue facility in Silver Spring.
鈥淪TIs are not only happening down-county,鈥� said Melvin Cauthen, the HIV/STI Services Administrator with the county鈥檚 health department.
For many residents, having to travel down-county 鈥渋s a barrier,” Cauthen said.
Montgomery County Council member Marilyn Balcombe attended Thursday鈥檚 open house at the new clinic and said the second barrier to getting tested for HIV and STIs is 鈥渢he stigma.鈥�
Balcombe said it鈥檚 important to see sexual health as a part of overall health, and said 鈥渆verybody needs to know their status.鈥� She was referring to the fact that, according to county health data, one out of nine people in the county who have HIV don鈥檛 know their status.
STI testing is free to anyone 26 years old and under, and HIV testing is free for all ages.
Beck added that rates of HIV and STIs have gone up 鈥渃onsiderably,鈥� particularly in the last three to five years.
In Montgomery County, health officials have seen an increase in the number of cases of syphilis. Asked why, Beck said, 鈥淲ell, the pandemic has affected everything, and people did not get tested. So we鈥檙e doing a lot of ‘catch up’ testing.”
Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Kisha Davis told 海角精品黑料 that the selection of the Upcounty Services Center for the clinic site made sense.
鈥淭his site was already a hub, a trusted site,鈥� for a range of county services, Davis said.
