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Bronx Clinics Urged To Test For AIDS

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 27, 2008

NEW YORK - Health officials are trying to persuade doctors to offer HIV tests to nearly every patient in a New York City community hit harder than most by AIDS.

Under a new program announced Thursday, officials have set an ambitious goal of testing a quarter million adults in the Bronx, one of five boroughs that make up New York City, within three years.

"We need every single individual to know their status," said Monica Sweeney, an assistant health commissioner who specializes in HIV prevention.

Like dozens of other states, New York requires doctors to obtain patients' written consent and provide a brief counseling session before giving them a test for the AIDS virus, a process that can take up to 20 minutes.

Now officials want health clinics to offer the tests to anyone who seeks care.
HIV testing in the Bronx is already fairly widespread. Nearly 7 of 10 Bronx adults have been tested at least once in their lifetime. But as many as 250,000 adults have never been tested.
AIDS killed 357 residents of the borough in 2006, about a third of all AIDS deaths in the city.

The Associated Press

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