Ohio University students who have previously avoided being tested for HIV will have an anonymous test option available as soon as next month.
After coordinating with Graduate Student Senate, the Dean of Students Office and the LGBT Center, Campus Care will offer free and anonymous HIV testing for OU students.
Last November, graduate student John Hummell raised concerns to GSS President Tracy Kelly about the lack of free, anonymous testing at Campus Care.
“Many health centers in larger cities, as well as the health center at my previous institution, offer the free, anonymous, rapid test option,” Hummell said last winter.
Kelly took Hummell’s suggestion to members of GSS, who decided to pass a resolution and tackle the issue.
Campus Care currently offers confidential HIV testing, which is available for free the third Wednesday every month. The test costs $25 on other days unless it is covered by students’ health insurance.
Anonymous testing is different from confidential testing, because the student’s name is not used at all during an anonymous test.
Instead, those who undergo anonymous testing are identified by the last four digits of their PID.
Students’ complaint with current confidential testing methods at OU is that the test appears on the students’ health insurance or that of their parents, since students register their health insurance with OU.
An anonymous test allows for greater privacy, and the test is not reported to the students’ or their parents’ health insurance providers, Kelly said.
Kelly contacted Tonya Burdette, director of operations for Campus Care, and worked with her to make the test available.
Burdette contacted Athens Medical Lab, which agreed to distribute the results.
Students who opt for the anonymous test will have a blood test, and they will be able to retrieve their results online. The confidential testing is done through a swab test, and students receive immediate results and information from staff about HIV during the visit, Burdette said.
Walk-in testing is available daily, which Burdette believes will help increase student turnout.
“Whether it’s a small group or a large group, you want to accommodate students in any way you can,” she said.
Mickey Hart, director of OU’s LGBT Center, consulted with GSS in responding to Hummell’s concern.
Hart spoke with Kelly about implementing the test and the legal aspects of keeping the process anonymous.
“Anything that we can do to help remove any barrier is beneficial to anyone,” Hart said.
Hart said he plans to continue to help Kelly and to promote the new option through LGBT.
“I think it can only be beneficial to the university and students,” he said. “It’s a great student victory for graduates.”
To cover the $25 cost of each anonymous test, GSS contacted •Ryan Lombardi, dean of students.
Lombardi has offered to cover the costs through general unrestricted money that was donated to the university by an individual to support initiatives for student health services.
He added that the money is not coming from student fees, tuition or state dollars.
“It’s not a huge amount of money, but enough for something small like this to make a difference for some of our students,” he said.
Lombardi said he hopes to support the testing for at least five years.
Once funds run out, the program will be assessed to measure how many students used it, and additional money will be sought elsewhere if necessary, Lombardi said.
“I just hope it’s another step of anonymity that will allow students that additional step to get tested to protect themselves,” he said.
Students can look for anonymous testing to be offered as soon as mid-October, Kelly said.
“All we need to do is establish the information to give to students and the phone script; otherwise, it’s good to go,” she said.
Kelly and Hart will finalize the information that will be distributed to students during the tests and the phone script; they will send them to Lombardi within the next week to be reviewed, Kelly said.
Hummel said he is happy Kelly and the Senate were able to push the initiative through.
“Hopefully this effort will begin to encourage students to educate themselves on HIV and AIDS, and to get tested,” he said. “There’s still a certain amount of stigma around getting tested for HIV, but hopefully free and anonymous rapid testing will help alleviate some of it.”
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