HIV Testing events to be held on June 27-29, 2012 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Beginning on National HIV Testing Day on June 27 and continuing through June 29, 2012, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), together with Beyond Care, Test Positive Awareness Network, and Brothers Health Collective  will provide FREE rapid HIV testing at four Walgreens stores in Chicago, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily.   The rapid HIV test takes approximately 20 to 40 minutes to administer and process. Test results will be delivered by the local AIDS service organization providing the testing on site.

HIV testing is being provided by health departments and local AIDS service organizations at select Walgreens stores in 20 markets across the nation as part of an ongoing collaboration between Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, and Greater Than AIDS, a coalition of public and private sector partners united in response to the domestic epidemic.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Act Against AIDS initiative and the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the official sponsor of National HIV Testing Day, also are supporting the effort.

CDPH together with Beyond Care, Test Positive Awareness Network, and Brothers Health Collective will provide free HIV testing at the following Walgreens stores in the Chicago area:

• Walgreens – 11 East 75th Street
• Walgreens – 4720 North Marine Drive
• Walgreens – 5440 North Clark
• Walgreens – 3401 West Roosevelt Road

Of the more than 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. today, an estimated one in five, or nearly a quarter of a million people, do not know it.  One-third of those who are positive are diagnosed so late in the course of their infection they develop AIDS within one year.  Early diagnosis and treatment helps save lives and is known to reduce the spread of HIV.  The CDC encourages everyone to know their status.  

“One of our goals, outlined in Healthy Chicago, the City’s public health agenda, is to reduce the number of new infections of HIV by 25%.  This collaborative effort is the perfect example of how we can achieve this goal with community partners that are committed to preventing the spread of HIV.  Expanding HIV testing initiatives like this have contributed to early diagnosis of HIV thus reducing the number of late HIV infections,” said Dr. Bechara Choucair, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

In total, 47 Walgreens stores in 20 markets across the nation are participating, including stores in the following cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Calif., Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington, D.C. and West Palm Beach, Fla.   An additional 138 Walgreens stores in the participating communities will help publicize the free testing provided by local health departments or AIDS service organizations through in-store messaging, including posters, post cards and in-store audio.  Walgreens also will promote National HIV Testing Day with special messages on June 27 on its Times Square digital display, the largest billboard of its kind in the country.

“These testing events provide valuable and vital opportunities to help the communities we serve,” said Glen Pietrandoni, Walgreens senior manager of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.  “Walgreens has supported people living with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic through its ability to offer accessible pharmacy, health and wellness guidance to patients, wherever they live.  Our pharmacists are developing relationships, listening to concerns and providing education and support.”

This marks the second year in a row that Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS have coordinated with local health departments and AIDS service organizations to allow them to provide free HIV testing at select Walgreens stores.  This year, more than twice the number of Walgreens stores and markets will participate.  More than 50 participating health departments and AIDS service organizations are providing the testing and delivering results on site, as well as supporting outreach.

“Greater Than AIDS is about communities working together to achieve a greater goal.  This is a powerful example of what can be achieved when the public and private sector come together in response to HIV/AIDS,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director, Health Communication and Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation, a founding partner of Greater Than AIDS.

Throughout the year, Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS distribute HIV informational resources and services at more than 550 Walgreens pharmacies in heavily affected communities.  Designated by Walgreens as “Centers of Excellence,” these stores have specially-trained pharmacists on hand to offer one-on-one medication counseling and other support services that provide customers living with HIV/AIDS – and their families – with compassionate, confidential care.

For more information, including participating Walgreens stores in each city, visit: www.greaterthan.org/walgreens