Austin is now home to a new health care center geared towards people living with HIV.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s new Guadalupe Street location bills itself as an “all-in-one” clinic, offering primary care, STI testing, case management and pharmacy services. Also on site is the Out of the Closet Thrift Store, where 96 cents of every dollar earned will go towards HIV prevention and treatment in the Austin area.
Anthony Snipes, AHF’s Texas regional director, said it's the first AHF center in Texas to house all these services under one roof.
“An individual can be referred in or can get tested [for HIV], and then also immediately have a doctor to be there to prescribe if it's necessary, or do blood work — all of that is onsite,” Snipes said.
According to AIDSVu, a project out of Emory University that tracks HIV statistics, more than 5,600 people in Travis County are living with HIV. At the state level, more than 100,000 individuals are HIV-positive.
AHF hopes to serve members of that population, although all are welcome. Snipes said many patients will be folks who are looking to verify their HIV status or receive PrEP treatments to protect against HIV transmission.
Although Austin’s brick-and-mortar AHF clinic opened around a month ago, AHF’s mobile testing unit has been active in Austin for more than two years, offering HIV testing in various locations, from nightclubs to homeless encampments. Now, AHF hopes to get folks who test positive for HIV at the mobile unit to an appointment at the Guadalupe Street clinic within 72 hours.
“If we need to get a Lyft or Uber ride to get you to that clinic for that first appointment, to get your blood work and possibly get you some medication and hopefully move you into virus suppression, that's our goal,” Snipes said.
After an appointment, Snipes said AHF works with patients to provide wraparound services when needed, such as connecting with case managers and health benefits counselors.
Snipes said Out of the Closet, the clinic’s onsite thrift store, is an important resource to get patients through the door. He said that while some people fear the stigma that might come with entering an establishment that’s geared toward HIV and AIDS treatment, walking through the entrance of a brightly colored thrift shop is less intimidating.
“No one knows what you're doing when you walk through the doors of a thrift shop, because thrifting is popular across the board,” he said. “So in essence, while they're shopping, if they decide they want to go and get a test, they can do that."
