Unity Health Care Welcomes HHS Secretary Azar to Discuss Plan to End HIV Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C – February 7, 2019– Unity Health Care (Unity) welcomed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar II, Surgeon General Vice Admiral Dr. Jerome Adams, and HRSA Administrator George Sigounas, Ph.D. to Unity’s Parkside Health Center to discuss the Trump Administration’s recently announced plan to end the HIV Epidemic.

“We are grateful for Secretary Azar, Surgeon General Dr. Adams, and HRSA Administrator Dr. Signouas for visiting us to see how community health centers play a vital role in the fight to end the spread of HIV,” said Unity President and CEO Vince Keane. “Unity treats everyone regardless of their ability to pay. So everyone who needs it has access to our model of HIV care which surrounds the community member with medical care and social services support if they ever test positive.”

Eighty-five percent of Unity’s HIV positive patients have a suppressed viral load, which keeps the patient healthy and helps prevent the sexual transmission of the HIV virus. As a HRSA grantee for both the Ryan White HIV/AIDS and the Health Center programs, Unity currently provides high-quality health care to over 1,700 HIV positive individuals each year.

At Unity, the HIV providers are located at community and homeless health care centers. At their annual visit, every patient is asked if they want an HIV test, and if a person tests positive, they are immediately connected to Unity’s Infectious Disease team. Having testing integrated into medical visits helps to eliminate the stigma of getting a test and gets people into care faster.