MOUNT VERNON — Kno-Ho-Co-Ashland now offers preventative treatment for HIV.
The STI-preventive medical treatment PrEP, has been available at the Sychar Road location for approximately three months, assistant admin Dee Dee Berger said.
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylactic) prevents someone from becoming HIV-positive if they come in contact with it.
“Anyone that is at a high risk of being exposed to HIV, we encourage it and it’s up to 99% effective,” Berger said.
Treatment typically flows in three-month intervals.
If insurance isn’t available for the user, Kno-Ho-Co-Ashland is a Prevention Assistance Intervention Program (PAPI) provider, which helps cover co-pays, doctors’ visits and health insurance premiums.
It’s funded through Ohio Dept. of Health HIV prevention program.
“We have all different directions we can go that like we don’t want that to be a barrier because we with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that will fund them,” Berger said. “There are several different directions we can go.
“That is not a barrier as far as being on prep, there are options.”
One of the challenges facing Berger is educating those on what PrEP is and its accessibility.
PrEP medication, like the agency itself, is funded through a reproductive women’s health grant, Berger said.
“We’re finding there was a lot of stigma still tied into a lot of the things we’re doing with that and the screening process that’s why we’re trying to promote with us being a family planning clinic,” Berger said.
“We deal obviously with a lot of STI screenings and that sort of thing. We see a lot of high-risk people come through the doors.
“So that’s why we wanted to get on board with it and start the education process that you don’t have to be a homosexual male for this to be a risk of yours.
“We’re seeing a lot more like polyamorous type people, open relationships–all that makes them at risk,” Berger said.
Success isn’t determined by how many use prep, but rather by keeping HIV-negative in the county.
According to 2022 statewide data, there were 866 reported new diagnoses of HIV in Ohio.
Seventy-eight percent of new diagnoses were among males.
“I don’t view that as a success because that doesn’t mean they’re taking it accordingly or being successful when it,” Berger said. “To me, success is the idea that when we run numbers, there are not positive HIV cases.”