Florence health officials are concerned over a recent uptick in HIV infections. The small coastal community has seen a 300 percent increase since 2015.
Six Florence residents have tested positive in just the last few months. HIV Alliance is partnering with PeaceHealth Medical to provide free testing, counseling and referral services. Alliance’s Program Director Amanda McCluskey.
McCluskey: “When you have a community of people who maybe have shared sex partners or shared injection drug use partners, if folks are making choices that are a little more risky, you can see clusters like this happen.”
McCluskey hopes her agency will help prevent new infections from this Florence cluster and identify any new cases. She says everyone should know their status. HIV Alliance provides needles exchange, free condoms, and home test kits which can be sent in the mail.