North Central provides 'no judgement' zone for Sexually Transmitted Infections

From North Central Public Health District:

Worried you might have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and want treatment for it? North Central Public  Health District (NCPHD) can diagnose and treat, often in the same visit, a wide range of STIs. As part of STI Awareness Week, April 9-15, NCPHD is putting the word out about our services, which will soon include offering a medication to prevent HIV. 

STI Awareness Week aims to reduce the stigma surrounding STIs, and give people the tools and knowledge for preventing, testing and treating STIs. 

STIs are infections that you can pass along, or get from someone else, during sex. “And it doesn’t have to be intercourse,” said NCPHD Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde. “You can pass it through oral or other  things.” 

NCPHD provides screening for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other STIs if needed. Many patients getting Paps -- a test for cervical cancer -- are also tested for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. “NCPHD can help people figure out if they might have been exposed to herpes, but we don’t necessarily screen everyone for herpes because the results are complicated and they can be difficult to interpret,” Wilde said. 

All services at NCPHD are strictly confidential, and no one has turned away for inability to pay.  NCPHD accepts insurance, and if people prefer not to use insurance (to avoid it appearing on a statement), or don’t have it, NCPHD bases fees on the ability to pay, and sometimes the fee can be zero, Hanlon-Wilde said. “We don’t want people to not get tested because they don’t have the funds,” she said. NCPHD has its own medications on hand —be it a shot for syphilis or gonorrhea, or antibiotic pills for chlamydia – so people generally do not have to go to a pharmacy for their pills. “People often come in and they’re very anxious and we are able to set their fears to rest. We have an absolutely no shame, no judgment zone. It’s just about their health and public health and safety and we just want everybody to get care,” Hanlon Wilde said. 

NCPHD offers STI screening five days a week (symptomatic screenings Mondays only). Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred. To schedule an appointment, call 541-506-2600.

Prevention efforts focus on education about safe sex and vaccines. The HPV vaccine is very effective at preventing cancer-causing infections, genital warts, and cervical pre-cancers, and is available for all sexes up to age 26 and after 46. The Hepatitis B vaccine is also very effective and recommended for most people. There are no vaccines available for other STIs, so we focus on safe sex education for prevention. 

Syphilis in particular is on the rise. It occurs mostly in men, but it has tripled in women in recent years causing a  rise in the number of babies born with the infection. It can cause stillbirth, death in babies, or blindness and serious deformity. 

Hanlon-Wilde had a final encouragement for people concerned they may have an STI: “Come and see us. Don‘t  be afraid.” 

For more information, please contact North Central Public Health District at (541) 506-2600, visit us on the  web at www.ncphd.org or find us on Facebook.)