HILLSBORO, Ohio — The Highland County Health Department has partnered with the Cincinnati nonprofit Caracole to offer free HIV testing at its Hillsboro office, giving county residents access to a service that previously required a trip to the Cincinnati area.
A Caracole representative will be at the health department, 1487 N. High St., Suite 400, on the fourth Monday of every month from 10 a.m. to noon to provide free rapid testing, the health department said in a Facebook post. Results are typically available in about 20 minutes.
Residents who can’t make it in during the monthly clinic hours can pick up a free at-home HIV test kit from the health department during regular business hours, the agency said. Anyone who tests positive, or who has had a known exposure to HIV, can be connected through Caracole to further testing, treatment information and case management resources.
Caracole has provided HIV/AIDS services in the Cincinnati region since 1987, when it began as a volunteer-run home offering hospice-style care to young men with AIDS. The organization’s first residence was the first licensed adult care facility in Ohio built specifically for people living with HIV/AIDS, at a time when the disease routinely killed patients within about two years of diagnosis.
As antiretroviral treatments transformed HIV from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition beginning in the mid-1990s, Caracole shifted its focus from end-of-life care to prevention, housing and case management. The nonprofit now serves more than 1,500 clients a year across a service area that includes several southwest Ohio counties, Butler County and Northern Kentucky, offering free testing, PrEP navigation, harm-reduction programs, housing assistance and pharmacy services.
The health department is encouraging residents to take advantage of the new local access point. “Know your status, get early diagnosis,” the agency said in its announcement.
More information on the health department’s services is available by calling 937-393-1941 or visiting highlandcountyhealth.org.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Highland County Health Department.
