Research has proven that people diagnosed with HIV who engage in medical care as soon as possible following their diagnosis, are prescribed an antiretroviral therapy (ARVs), are consistently taking their ARVs, and who are retained in care are the most likely to achieve viral suppression and the most likely to remain virally suppressed.
Have you heard about U=U? "People who take [antiretroviral therapy (ART)] daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (September, 2017)
Pinnacle Family Health provides comprehensive, compassionate care for our patients living with HIV. Our medical evaluation and clinical care includes CD4 cell monitoring; viral load and resistance testing; antiretroviral therapy; prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections, malignancies and other related conditions; routine immunizations; clinical preventive services; prevention of perinatal transmission; and patient education, including linkage to prevention services.
If you'd like to make an appointment in our HIV Health clinic, please give us a call at (318) 325-1092, then follow the voice prompts to make an appointment. Please be sure to let them know you are seeking HIV-related care so they can set you up with our intake process to ensure you are receiving all the benefits available to you, and that the cost of HIV care is not burdensome to you.
I Just Found Out I'm Living with HIV:
Learning that you are living with HIV can be overwhelming. It's important to know that people living with HIV can lead long, productive, happy lives. Advancements in treating HIV have come a long way in recent years making HIV disease much more manageable than ever before.
The key to living healthy and well is to begin medical care - and stay in care. When you stay in care you improve your health and quality of life. You get all the benefits that research, medicine, and healthcare can offer. When you stay in care, you will feel better, do more, and live longer. Stay in care by seeing your doctor on a regular basis, year-after-year-after-year.
Don't fool yourself by thinking "Why should I see a doctor? I feel fine." Often individuals with HIV do feel fine. This is especially true in the early stages of infection. But by getting into care and staying in care, you will increase your ability to keep feeling fine!
The steps below will help guide you in what needs to be done now that you know your status.
Partner Notification Services:
Often one of the first things individuals finding out their status want to know is how do I notify my partner(s)? Some people feel comfortable with notifying their partner(s) themselves, while others don't. This is understandable. However, if we are to slow the spread of HIV, individuals who might have either transmitted the virus unknowingly or been exposed, need to be tested. Partner notification services is a set of free, confidential services available to people living with HIV and their partners to reduce the spread of HIV in our community. Partner notification services allow people living with HIV to ensure their partners have the opportunity to get tested for HIV without having to worry about disclosure.
Partner services are available through The Louisiana Department of Public Health or through Pinnacle Family Health.
Call (318) 325-1092 or Toll-Free: (800) 286-1092 to make an appointment.
