{"id":7538,"date":"2021-02-11T18:54:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T23:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=7538"},"modified":"2021-02-11T18:54:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T23:54:37","slug":"cronkite-news-covid-19-forces-changes-in-hiv-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/02\/11\/cronkite-news-covid-19-forces-changes-in-hiv-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: COVID-19 forces changes in HIV services"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tAIDS Walk 2021 Native Health\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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For the registration link, please text 602.620.3645 or email: iortega@nachci.com#AIDSwalkAZ #AuntRitasFoundation #StrongerTogether #HIVawareness<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Native Health Phoenix: AIDS Walk 2021 Native Health<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Pandemic prompts changes to HIV testing and treatment in metro Phoenix<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, February 11, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Kenechi Anigbogu, Gianluca D\u2019Elia and Kamilah Williams<\/div>\r\nSpecial for Cronkite News\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nPHOENIX, Arizona \u2013 In a downtown parking garage, a health care worker, dressed in protective gear, waits for cars to pull up for drive-thru HIV tests. Inside the building, volunteers assemble packages of at-home tests and condoms to be shipped across the state.

<\/p>\r\nElsewhere in metro Phoenix, a van travels to neighborhoods whose residents may face higher risk of infection to provide regular HIV testing, while doctors and case managers across the area respond to telehealth appointments by phone and Zoom.

<\/p>\r\n\r\nAlthough face-to-face interactions have been the preferred method for testing and treating people for HIV and supporting them in vulnerable moments, the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> has forced local health care providers to get creative and adapt.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSuch services as Zoom appointments, along with drive-thru, at-home and mobile testing, epitomize this new normal.

<\/p>\r\nDr. Ann Khalsa, an HIV specialist with more than 30 years of experience, has been part of the shift. She serves as medical director at Valleywise Community Health Center-McDowell, and spends most days on Zoom and phone calls with patients.

<\/p>\r\nKhalsa said that amid COVID-19 \u2013 with so many people \u201chunkered down\u201d and not prioritizing other medical needs \u2013 her clinic has seen a 30% decrease in people getting tested for HIV and linked to treatment.

<\/p>\r\nHowever, some of the changes in delivery of care are helping, she added, and are likely here to stay.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI think telehealth isn\u2019t going to go away entirely because it\u2019s too effective, too convenient,\u201d she said. \u201cMost of what we\u2019re doing is counseling and reviewing lab data and talking with people.\u201d

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Christopher Carrillo, a clinical tester at the Southwest Center for HIV\/AIDS in Phoenix, rolls a cart through the center\u2019s parking garage for drive-thru HIV finger prick tests. Photo by Gianluca D\u2019Elia \/ Special for Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe ability to continue testing and getting people into treatment is particularly important in Phoenix, which is one of almost 200 cities worldwide that participates in the U.N.\u2019s Fast Track Cities \r\ninitiative<\/a>\r\nto reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths to zero.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs of 2019, 18,462 people were living with HIV in Arizona, with 776 new cases that year, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The incidence rate was highest among Black people, at 36.5 per 100,000.

<\/p>\r\n\r\nIn Maricopa County alone, an estimated \r\n12,657<\/a>\r\npeople were living with HIV in 2019, with 521 new diagnoses that year. The county, with nearly 4.5 million people, is Arizona\u2019s largest.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\nBased on limited data, \r\nexperts<\/a>\r\nbelieve that individuals who have HIV and are being treated face no greater risks from COVID-19 than those who don\u2019t have the virus, but people who are HIV positive and don\u2019t yet know it or who aren\u2019t in treatment could have a harder time fighting COVID-19 because their immune systems are weaker.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nGiven high numbers of both HIV and COVID-19 in Maricopa County, advocates in the HIV service community said a wider variety of testing and treatment options is vital.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve adapted in a way that makes a whole lot of sense,\u201d said Rocko Cook, director of community services at Phoenix\u2019s Southwest Center for HIV\/AIDS, which helps about 30,000 Arizonans annually.

<\/p>\r\nAfter the pandemic was declared last March, the center began offering drive-thru finger-prick tests in its parking garage as well as more telehealth options. In-person visits are possible but limited, to give staff time to sanitize rooms between appointments.

<\/p>\r\nWhen Gov. Doug Ducey issued a stay-at-home order for a month and a half last April into May, Aunt Rita\u2019s Foundation saw requests for free home HIV test kits almost triple.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThat part of our business exploded,\u201d said Glen Spencer, executive director of the Phoenix nonprofit, which provides grant funding for HIV prevention programs as well as its own outreach and testing services.

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