After moving from location to location on campus for the past decade, Penn's HIV testing center has found a permanent home in the Student Health Service offices, located at 3535 Market St.
Penn started HIV testing on campus in the 1990s. But the program has occupied several different locations because it was unable to find an adequate space.
SHS initiated the testing, when it began, but the Office of Health Education eventually assumed sole responsibility for it up until this year. SHS will once again handle testing, centralizing more of the services available to students.
"We identified on-site HIV testing as a service that would benefit students," said Evelyn Wiener, director of SHS. "But space constraints wouldn't allow them to do it."
According to OHE Director Susan Villari, Penn conducts a "Health and Wellness" survey every two years, which showed how widely-used HIV testing services are.
The survey found that one-third of Penn undergraduate and graduate students have been tested for HIV sometime in their lives, and 14 percent of students were tested in 2007 and 2008.
However, there is no specific information regarding how many Penn students have HIV.
"We don't have accurate data for HIV prevalence on campus," said Thomas Reda, primary-care and men's-health physician at SHS. "So, one of the goals is to gather the data and identify the best ways to work on prevention and target harm reduction."
The HIV testing center also shortened the amount of time required for an HIV test and make the tests more accessible to students.
According to Reda, the testing center uses finger-prick blood samples with results available in 20 minutes.
"It is more accurate than the oral swab test, which is what other on-campus organizations used for testing," added Reda. "And it's free."
SHS health counselor Erin Taylor explained that the testing consists of several steps.
To schedule an appointment, students simply need to sign up for an HIV testing appointment through SHS. The whole testing process takes about 30 to 45 minutes.
On average, three to seven students schedule appointments each day. The maximum capacity of the testing center is 10 students per day.
The tests will first help students identify potential risks for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
If a student tests positive, a primary-care physician then confirms the test results and coordinates future treatment.
"Penn students imagine that they have a lower risk than the general population. But in fact, it might not be true," said Taylor. "I hope the testing center will help us figure out the best ways to help students reduce the risk."
