Nicci Morris – Since it began its large-scale routine HIV testing program in August 2008, Ben Taub General Hospital emergency center has been the site for more than 100,000 screenings.
The Routine Universal Screening for HIV (RUSH) program is a CDC-funded collaborative coordinated by the City of Houston’s Health and Human Services Department to expand testing. More than 100,000 HIV tests have been performed in the emergency center at , part of the Harris County Hospital District.
Unless emergency center patients opt out, they are administered an HIV test as part of their diagnostic blood work during their visit. In 2011, more than 106,000 patients visited Ben Taub Hospital for emergency care.
“It’s important that we increase overall HIV screening nationally and that includes in the nation’s emergency centers,” says Dr. Shkelzen Hoxhaj, chief, Emergency Medicine, Ben Taub General Hospital and, associate professor, Medicine Department, Baylor College of Medicine. “The benefits of increased screenings include improved disease detection, reducing future transmission of disease, reduced healthcare costs and improved patient morbidity/mortality from HIV infection.”
According to recent CDC reports, an estimated surge of 11 million HIV tests have been done. Yet, more than half of Americans aged 18-64 have never been tested. Additionally, minority populations are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS: Blacks account for the highest rate of new infections with 59 per 100,000. Hispanics rank second highest at 10 per 100,000.
People who get tested early and receive treatment improve their chances of living without HIV/AIDS’ long-term complications or related illnesses.
“We want to make getting an HIV test as easy as getting a glucose exam for diabetes or a cholesterol test for heart disease,” Hoxhaj says. “There shouldn’t be any hesitation about getting tested. It’s the right thing to do for the community.”The RUSH testing program at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and several of its community health centers. RUSH has administered nearly 180,000 HIV tests and identified 2,689 HIV-positive cases including 729 newly identified cases.
Although HIV testing is increasingly common, the Harris County Hospital District’s program is unique in its ability to connect HIV-positive patients to Thomas Street Health Center, a specialized treatment facility. It is the nation’s first free-standing treatment facility for HIV/AIDS.
“Trained HIV counselors are notified when a positive test is discovered, and they meet directly with the patient to inform of test results, provide appropriate education and counseling, and assist with making an appointment for follow-up care at Thomas Street,” says Ken Malone, HIV Testing Project Coordinator, Harris County Hospital District.
