In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1, Get Tested Coachella Valley is encouraging the community to help end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by getting a free and confidential HIV test at one of four community test sites throughout the Coachella Valley.
“One of the most meaningful ways we can honor those we’ve lost is to end the epidemic, once and for all,” said Susan Unger, Project Director of Get Tested Coachella Valley. “Getting an HIV test is easy – and the most important step each of us can take.”
Free HIV testing will be offered on World AIDS Day (Tuesday, December 1) at the following locations:
The DOCK (1695 N. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs at Desert AIDS Project, 8AM – 5PM (closed for lunch 11:45AM-1PM)
Walgreens (78218 Varner Road, Palm Desert at the corner of Washington St.), 8AM – 12PM
Walgreens (80925 Highway 111, Indio at the corner of Madison St.), 2PM – 6PM
Salvation Army (30400 Landau Blvd., Cathedral City), 2PM – 6PM
Testing will be available on a walk-in basis at the listed locations. The campaign’s team of certified HIV test counselors uses pain-free, rapid oral swab HIV tests, which do not require blood and provide results in 20 minutes.
Free and confidential HIV tests are also offered on an ongoing basis throughout the Coachella Valley. For a current list of community test sites and hours, visit gettestedcoachellavalley.org/community-test-sites/.
The CDC recommends that all adolescents and adults get tested for HIV. They estimate that 1 in 8 Americans who has HIV is unaware they have the virus. Medical studies have shown that HIV-positive individuals who take the appropriate medications become 96% less infectious. These facts inspire the Get Tested Coachella Valley campaign’s strategy to end the spread of HIV by making testing and treatment available to everyone in our community.
About Get Tested Coachella Valley
Get Tested Coachella Valley is a three-year, $5 million public health initiative dedicated to dramatically reducing HIV infections by making voluntary HIV testing a standard and routine medical practice and ensuring linkage to care. The campaign was launched in 2014 under the leadership of Desert AIDS Project and is driven by a coalition of more than 80 Community Partners including the Riverside County Department of Public Health; the region’s major hospitals; municipalities and elected officials; and leaders