CHICAGO — On Wednesday, June 27, the "STEP UP, GET TESTED: ChicaGO for 5K" campaign, a collaboration of healthcare agencies, including the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, the Chicago Department of Public Health and other AIDS service organizations, will honor National HIV Testing Day by announcing their successes to boost testing efforts at the Fantus Health Center in Chicago, IL.
According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, in 2009 there were 1,092 people diagnosed with HIV infections, 40 percent of them under the age of 30. There are 20,391 people living with HIV infection in Chicago. Estimating that 20 percent of people infected with HIV are unaware of their status, there could be over 25,000 people living with HIV in the city.
More than 20 organizations joined forces to help increase HIV testing efforts in the most underserved communities in the Chicagoland throughout the month of June. The organizations hosted a series of testing events throughout the month offering free, rapid HIV testing services, prevention education and other resources. The campaign also highlighted health centers and hospitals that offer HIV testing as a part of their regular healthcare offerings throughout the year.
The campaign is a part of Healthy Chicago, the City's public health agenda, to reduce the number of new infections of HIV by 25%. Routine HIV testing initiatives contribute to earlier diagnosis of HIV, thus reducing the number of late HIV infections.
Who: Dr. Raju, CEO for the Cook County Health & Hospitals System
Dr. Robert A. Weinstein, MD, COO of the CORE Center
Mr. Munoz, Deputy Commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health
When: Wednesday, June 27
10:00 am CST
Where: Fantus Health Center Courtyard
1901 W. Harrison St. at Odgen & Harrison Ave.
Chicago, IL 60612
Step Up, Get Tested is a city-wide unified effort that brings AIDS service and community-based organizations together to scale up HIV testing in the most underserved communities of Chicago. As a part of National HIV Testing Day (June 27), the collaborative will host a series of testing events throughout the city to offer free rapid HIV testing services, prevention education, and other resources. The campaign aims to test 5,000 individuals in Chicago communities most heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS, find individuals within the 20% who are undiagnosed, link those who test positive to life-saving care and promote awareness about the importance of testing.