Photo via Pineapple Healthcare Event Page
ORLANDO | Pineapple Healthcare is combining education and entertainment with its Splash Bash Field Day, bringing attention to Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, or SHAAD.
“What we’re trying to do is capture the joy of team sports in a way that also educates the community. That is what the Splash Bash is all about,” says Andres Acosta Ardila, director of community relations at Pineapple Healthcare.
Partnering with OUT Sports League Orlando, the Splash Bash looks to evoke the same sense of joy that school field day brought to participants. Event goers will be broken up into teams to compete in challenges throughout the day.
The educational part of the day will come during lunch where the teams will face off in a trivia challenge. The topics for this challenge will center on HIV and STI prevention and treatment to coincide with SHAAD.
SHAAD highlights the disproportionately high levels of HIV infections in the southern United States compared to other regions in the country. The South accounts for roughly 52% of all HIV infections in the entire U.S.
“When it comes to the HIV epidemic, the South is falling behind, right,” Acosta Ardila says. “Our region is number one for new HIV transmissions. Florida, especially Orlando falls in the top four.”
Racial and ethnic minority men who have sex with men are more likely to become infected with the disease in the region, according to a 2023 study by HIV.org. Some of the factors that lead to the increase of infections include lack of resources in rural areas, lack of sexual education and the fear from the stigma of receiving an HIV diagnosis.
Acosta Ardila says the disease is a “chronic, manageable illness” that patients can easily take care of with medical attention.
“The important thing to remember is that when you’re in treatment, you can become undetectable,” Acosta Ardila says, “and if you’re undetectable, you cannot transmit HIV to anyone else. That is the logic behind U=U.”
U=U stands for “Undetectable equals Untransmittable” which means those with a positive HIV diagnosis can not pass the disease onto a partner.
Pineapple Healthcare will be providing free HIV testing at Splash Bash as well as linkage to care options for those that test positive. They will also have information on options on preventative medications such as PrEP and DoxyPep for those that are interested.
“We’re gonna have a DJ that’s gonna be playing and it’s gonna be a fun time because here at Pineapple we like to focus on education that also entertains,” Acosta Ardila says. “Because that’s the best way to reach the community.”
The Splash Bash Field Day will be held on Sunday, Aug. 25, in Barnett Park from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Tickets are free but the event is limited to 80 participants. You can register by going here.
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