Many anonymous HIV testing options available
February 12, 2004 by Contributed by Sonya Elkins
Filed under News
Students will endure numerous exams during their time in college, but an anonymous test provided by several Athens health facilities could prove to be the most important of all.
The University Health Center offers HIV tests to any student that requests one, but officials said it was not frequently asked for.
Only about 400 of the University’s approximately 33,000 students choose to take the anonymous HIV test each year, said health educator Betsy Sanford.
Meanwhile, Georgia ranks eighth in the United States in AIDS cases, according to the UHC’s Web site (www.uhs.uga.edu).
“The approximate national average is that one in 250 people are HIV positive,” Sanford said. “We believe UGA is in that range.”
The UHC is not the only provider of HIV testing in the Athens area — the Athens-Clarke County Health Department and the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia also offer anonymous testing.
“Put simply, it means there will be no record that you ever came here for an HIV test,” Sanford said.
With anonymous testing, patients only give a first name and pay in cash to ensure that no record of their test or results are available, she said.
The results do not go on patients’ medical records but are provided to students through an assigned number.
The UHC and ACC Health Department offer blood testing for the exams.
Tests at the UHC cost $35 and results are available within three working days.
The test costs $25 at the Health Department and results are available after two weeks.
“It’s really important to get tested so that you know where you are — that way you can take the best care of yourself,” said Jermaine Sims, a Coalition prevention outreach coordinator.
For the needle-wary, the Coalition offers an anonymous mouth-swab test with results usually available within three working days. The test requires a $10 donation.
Students interested in making an appointment can call the UHC at 542-8690, the Coalition at 542-2437 or the Health Department at 542-8600.
Appointments are necessary at the UHC and preferred at the Coalition, although no appointment is needed for testing at the Health Department.
“The worst thing someone who is HIV positive can do is not seek treatment,” Sims said. “For somebody who’s HIV negative, that lets them know where they are too.”
