DOH-Collier Offers Free Screenings 

Naples, FL.— The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) recognizes National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, September 27th. National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a day to recognize the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on gay men.

In recognition of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, DOH-Collier is collaborating with community partners to offer free screenings. All sites will be offering free rapid HIV testing with same day results.

Gay and bisexual men — referred to in CDC surveillance systems as men who have sex with men (MSM) — of all races continue to be the risk group most severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Nationally, while the CDC estimates that only 3 percent of men in the United States identify as MSM, the rate of new HIV diagnoses among MSM in the United States is more than 44 times that of other men. Overall, MSM account for more than half of the people living with HIV in the United States (57%) and approximately two-thirds of all new HIV infections each year (66%).

Florida ranks 2nd in the nation in the number of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection. In Collier County alone, we have over 1,700 cumulative reported cases of HIV/AIDS and 36% of those living with HIV in Collier County are MSM.

For more information about these events, please contact:
DOH-Collier Naples: 3339 East Tamiami Trail, Building H; Call (239) 252-8593
DOH-Collier Immokalee: 419 North First Street, Immokalee; Call (239) 252-7300
Marion E. Fether Medical Center: 1454 Madison Ave, Immokalee; Call (239) 658-3000

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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