David Karst believes there’s still a certain stigma related to HIV tests in the Tampa Bay area. Many people are worried about what others will think if they get a test and too many people relate a test to “bad behavior.”
Both views are not only ridiculous, but unhealthy. But that’s why the new AIDS Services Association of Pinellas office at the Flamingo Resort has an entrance on the parking lot side of the renovated building rather than by the pool.
“Getting a test is the responsible thing to do,” the project coordinator said. “We want to make ourselves visible and available to the community and this is one of the best places to do that.”
The new ASAP office officially opened in November, but the staff held a grand opening for the new location earlier this month. Karst said that as more people learn about the facility, more people have used the resource.
ASAP’s Suncoast Project, as the satellite office is officially called, is funded through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control. That funding allows trained professionals to test for HIV through the “finger prick test,” which offers results in less than 30 minutes. While the grant is specifically geared toward testing “men who have sex with men,” Karst said that occasionally he and his staff will test a heterosexual person, thanks to an agreement with the Pinellas County Health Department.
“But our grant is very specific,” Karst said. “We are here to serve the gay and bisexual men of Tampa Bay.”
ASAP had a similar testing office at Suncoast Resort, which closed in 2007. Before opening in its Flamingo location, the Suncoast Project has operated out of an office on Central Avenue. That office is now closed.
“The Flamingo actually approached us about opening here shortly after it opened its doors,” Karst said. “(Resort director) David Baker was a part of our advisory committee at Suncoast Resort and after this opened, the Flamingo decided it wanted this kind of facility on the property.”
The new office is on the first floor on the north side of the complex. Four traditional hotel rooms were gutted, refurbished and redecorated and now offers two testing rooms.
The “finger-prick” test is free, simple and virtually painless, according to Karst. A lance is used to prick a finger to extract two drops of blood. That blood is then mixed in a solution and in 20 minutes or so a reading is available.
“It either shows ‘active’ or ‘non-active,’” Karst said. “If it is active, we do a second test which is a test of cheek cells. That second test is sent to a lab for confirmation.”
The “finger-prick” test is 99.6% accurate and out of more than 6,000 tests administered since the CDC grant was obtained, only three have turned out to be a false positive. The secondary “confirmatory test” takes two weeks to get back, according to Karst.
“We always tell clients right up front how accurate the first test is,” Karst said. “With every test we do a risk assessment on them. If they’ve had no activity and it comes up reactive, it’s possible that the test is wrong. But you never know when people are telling the truth.”
Eventually, Karst hopes that Tampa Bay will resemble San Francisco in the way its citizens view HIV tests. In the Golden Gate City, he says, organizations like ASAP begin the day with lines of people outside waiting to get tested.
“The people in California know it’s the responsible thing to do,” he said. “Everyone wants everyone else to know they’re getting a test. Here, people feel like they need to park down the street and come in the back door. It is a personal decision to get tested, but there is no shame in it.”
ASAP’s mobile unit will also be utilized in the event the Flamingo location is busy. However, the unit will also be returning to Ybor City and other areas of Tampa Bay in February.
The ASAP office at the Flamingo is open Wednesdays-Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Appointments are requested, but not required.
For more information on the program, visit MySpace.com/ASAPSuncoast or call 727-321-7600.
