By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@ theindependent.com

In September it was announced the Central Health Center would receive $160,000 in Title X HIV Supplemental Funding to help the health center integrate HIV testing into its routine visits. The grant affects the center's Grand Island, Kearney and Lexington offices.

Title X is a federal program that focuses on family planning and reproductive health care. In Nebraska, there are more than 20 Title X clinics. Central Health Center was the only one to receive the supplemental funding.

The health center's large service area and ability to implement projects are likely what made it the top candidate, said Laura Urbanec, executive director of the Central Health Center.

"We live in a relatively low incidence rate area here, but we aren't immune to it, either," Urbanec said.

The money will go toward purchasing the HIV tests, hiring and training more employees, obtaining educational materials and updating data reporting systems, among other needs, Urbanec said.

The grant came about in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations for HIV testing. Those guidelines were set to help increase HIV testing and foster earlier detection of the virus.

According to the CDC, HIV screening is recommended for all patients in all healthcare settings, as long as the patient is notified of the test. Patients have the right to waive it.

Before, the health center offered HIV testing upon request through the Counseling, Testing and Referral (CTR) program. Since January, health center officials have also encouraged it as part of all medical visits.

The CTR testing takes a more in-depth look at risk assessment and counseling, and at times that can be a deterrent for people, Urbanec said. Also, the CTR tests were never included in a person's medical record.

The HIV tests conducted as part of a routine visit are completed on-site using blood drawn through a finger prick. The clinic can give patients the result within 10 minutes, and the results are also included in the person's medical record. Patients can be given educational materials on lowering their risk factors for HIV.

Since the tests have been implemented at the Central Health Center, close to 600 have been conducted and fewer than half of patients have declined the test. Those who sign a waiver have typically had another HIV test recently or have no risk factors for HIV, Urbanec said.

Since the Central Health Center is not a free clinic, the test was added to the sliding fee scale and will be provided at a minimal cost to patients, Urbanec said.

The testing is important because it's estimated that more than 1 million people in the U.S. have HIV, and 25 percent of them don't know it, said Susan Goodman, community outreach coordinator at Central Health Center.

HIV, short for human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the immune system and can cause AIDS. Those infected with HIV transmit the virus mainly through sexual contact and the sharing of needles and syringes. People can also be exposed to HIV as an infant before or at birth or through breast-feeding.

"The only way you know if you have HIV is to get tested," Goodman said.

However, there is a stigma attached to HIV testing, Goodman said. Sometimes people hesitate to get tested because they're afraid of getting a positive result or they don't want to be seen as sexually promiscuous, she said. Making the test routine may make people more comfortable with it.

Those identified as HIV positive can get into treatment and support groups sooner, Urbanec said, improving their quality of life and preventing the further spread of the disease.

So far, none of the patients has been offended by being offered the test as part of a clinic visit, said Chyla Stewart, the clinic's licensed practical nurse. She sees making the tests routine as a positive approach.

"Better to know than to not know, I think," Stewart said.