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The MISTER Program’s HIV Testing Center provides free HIV counseling & testing services (CTR). Our counselors are able to emotionally support both negative and positive clients, and help in identifying high risk behaviors and developing a risk reduction plan to reduce the chances of getting infected for negative individuals or re-infected for positive individuals.
Get tested and WIN two ways! First, by getting tested, you will know your status – and knowledge is power. Second, all persons obtaining an HIV test each month are enrolled in a monthly drawing and the winner will receive a $25 gift card for a great item such as iTunes, Amazon, Kroger, or other related card. AND, each quarter (four times a year), a drawing will be held from the pool of all persons tested in the previous three months and that person will win an item valued at approximately $200 (such as a Kindle Fire or comparable prize!). The winner's name for any gift certificate or prize is never released to protect confidentiality.
The Testing Center staff understands that many individuals have other responsibilities including jobs and school, and in a lot of circumstances are unable to obtain an HIV test during normal business hours because of these obligations. For this reason, the MISTER Center has extended hours for HIV testing to include Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM, Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM. With these extended hours, we are able to provide a time that is convenient for most people. The entire testing process from the time you check in until you receive your preliminary result is generally about 30 to 45 minutes (including the 20 minutes it takes the test to actually process your result).
MISTER is proud to be able to offer free confidential HIV testing, and follows HIPAA requirements regarding the protection of medical information. With confidential testing, personal information as well as demographic information is required (name, mailing address, telephone number and so on). You will also receive a handy pocket card with your results, and the card will contain your name, date of birth, the date you were tested, as well as your result. All information given will be kept strictly confidential. All clients are assigned a unique client ID, and that discreet ID is used on charting as well as used for repeat visits. All records are kept in a locked file cabinet in a locked room at all times. Demographic information is used for funding and tracking purposes, but your name, address and other personal information is never reported to the CDC or any other funder. The MISTER Program has a very strict confidentiality policy to which all staff are required to adhere and all staff and volunteers have signed confidentiality agreements.
Everyone obtaining an HIV test will receive their results during the same visit. There is no need to return days later for your preliminary results. The Testing Center uses the non-invasive OraQuick Rapid HIV 1/2 Rapid testing device. This means that your test will process in 20 minutes and results can be given the same day! This test can be done orally. There are no needles or fingersticks involved!
So what can you expect if you decide to take the smart step to obtain an HIV test at the MISTER Testing Center? First, we are located at 60 Eleventh Street NE in Midtown, just one block north of the Midtown MARTA station and next door to the Federal Reserve Building and one block up from the Lowe’s Hotel and Joe’s on Juniper. There is ample free parking that is easily accessible from Eleventh Street.
When you enter the Testing Center offices, you will be asked to sign in, and then read our informed consent policy and complete some basic information about yourself. A counselor will then meet with you and ask you some questions to identify any risks you might have related to HIV, and will discuss any ways you might wish to decrease those risks—after all, if you are presenting for an HIV test you must care about your health and potential risk. After this brief pre-counseling session, you will be administered the OraQuick oral swab, which is essentially a small stick about the size of a Q-tip that you will swab around on your gums, and then that gets placed into a solution to process for 20 minutes. Once the test has finished processing, the counselor will call you back into the confidential office and give you your test results.
If your test result is non-reactive (negative), you will be given an opportunity to ask any questions before you leave, and will be given a safer sex kit to take home with you should you desire one, and you will be given a card with your results.
If your test result is reactive (preliminary positive), we will need to obtain another oral test. While false positives are extremely rare today, it still can happen and so this is only a PRELIMINARY positive, and does not mean you definitely have HIV. The second test is critically important in confirming whether you have HIV. This second oral swab must then be sent off to the State Laboratory for a confirmatory (Western blot) test. This typically takes 3 to 5 business days. Once this test result returns, you will be scheduled for an appointment to return to obtain these results. Again, false positives are rare, but the only way to ensure you truly know your HIV status if you test preliminary positive is to get the confirmatory test.
The Testing Center counselors can also make internal referrals to other MISTER programs such as STD screening and sex coaching/sexual health sessions, as well as to Positive Impact’s Mental Health, Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Programs for those individuals who require such referrals.
Empower yourself with the knowledge of knowing your HIV status. Bring yourself, bring a family member, and bring a friend to be tested. Let’s do this together and help in the reduction of the spread of HIV in our communities.
Free rapid HIV testing is available to both men and women over the age of 16 regardless of race or ethnicity.
For more information or questions about HIV testing, please contact the CTR Team Lead, Glenn Fitch, at the MISTER Center at 678-365-4300 or email glenn.fitch@positiveimpact-atl.org.
For management questions and concerns, please contact the MISTER Center Prevention Director, Danny Sprouse, at 678-365-4300, email danny.sprouse@positiveimpact-atl.org.
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ‘ANONYMOUS’ HIV TESTING
Why there is no need to have an anonymous HIV test….
•Should you test negative, no one outside the MISTER Center will ever have access to your name, address and telephone number – and since you are testing at the Center, we must assume that you trust us enough to conduct this important test and rest assured we take your privacy and confidentiality very seriously;
•Should you test preliminary positive (the first oral swab we conduct), again, no one outside this agency will ever have access to your name, address and telephone number;
•Should you test preliminary positive and have confirmatory testing (the second oral swab we would conduct if your first swab was reactive), we could only submit that to the State Lab with your name, address and telephone number – in other words, we cannot conduct an anonymous confirmatory test, and so even if you started out as an anonymous test you would have to ultimately provide your name, address and telephone number to have your preliminary positive test confirmed;
•By testing confidentially, should your test be negative, we can provide you a results card documenting the date you tested and your test result;
•On a more mundane level, because the CDC funds us to do HIV testing and expects us to conduct a certain number of unduplicated tests each year, we do not get to “count” any anonymous tests since we cannot prove that the person is unduplicated; in other words, you could come here and test anonymously 5 times in a year and it would look like 5 different tests, when really it was only 1 person – what that means on a practical level is if we are obligated to test 4000 people a year, and we do test 4000 people but 1000 are anonymous, we only get to count 3000 of those tests and risk getting our funding cut which would mean less free testing we could offer you and your community;
•Finally, the MISTER Center has moved to a better client management system to make accessing services easier and faster; after completing the initial intake at your first visit to the Center, you will be assigned a unique ID specific to you, and this ID is not disclosed to any other outside agency; in the future when you check in, you will simply provide that unique ID and will only have to update any information that has changed since your last visit, and avoid completing the longer new client intake packet each time.
Does the MISTER Center require a photo ID to test for HIV?
•No, an ID is not required. While we strongly discourage using a fictitious name, we do not verify your identity. However, please know that if you use false information two things may likely happen:
1) When you return next time, unless you use the exact same false information, you will appear to be a new client and will have to go through the entire new client process again every time; AND
2) Should you require confirmatory testing and your results return positive but you gave an incorrect name, in order to get medical care you will have to provide your correct information and then redo the entire testing process since no medical provider will treat you if your results and your photo ID (required at a medical provider’s office) do not match.
The bottom line: There are no advantages to having an anonymous versus confidential test; if your result is negative, no one will ever know you had the test except for staff in the Center, and if your result is positive, you would have to provide your real name and contact information to have confirmatory testing and treatment anyway.
We hope you understand, and if there are any questions you have to make you feel more comfortable testing confidentially, your counselor will be happy to answer them.
Thank you for trusting the MISTER Center with your HIV testing needs!
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