MCG to participate in HIV Test Day

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Representatives from the Medical College of Georgia’s Ryan White Outreach Team will offer free rapid HIV testing Sunday, June 27, from 2-6 p.m. at the National Guard Armory on Milledge Road as part of National HIV Testing Day.

The National Association of People with AIDS initiated National HIV Testing Day in 1995 to promote early diagnosis and HIV testing. The event, hosted locally by the Angelic Community Resource Development and the MCG Ryan White Outreach Team, is now in its seventh year. It will also feature displays by area resource agencies, live entertainment, raffles and refreshments.

Angelic Community Resource Development, Inc. was formed by John Milton of Jay’s Place Barber Shop and Kenneth Bonds, MCG’s Ryan White Grant community outreach specialist, to increase testing in the community. The mission of the Ryan White Outreach Team is early intervention, according to David Thompson, team member.

“Early detection and early treatment are key factors to living with HIV/AIDS,” Thompson said. “Thanks to advances in treatment, those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS can now live as long as the general population, provided they receive proper, regular treatment.”

Since 1996, the MCG Ryan White Outreach Team has provided free, confidential HIV testing, education, counseling and treatment and linkage to care at testing sites throughout the Aiken-Augusta area. The team is supported through a Ryan White Part C Grant, which provides funding for early-intervention HIV services and treatment.

The outreach team tests over 800 people annually. Since its inception, the team has linked more than 300 people with HIV to care or back into care.

For more information about National Testing Day or the Ryan White Outreach Team, contact Thompson at 706-721-4463 or Bonds at 706-294-9414. For other testing sites and times, visit www.csrasafetynet.org.