Vans Take H.I.V. Tests to Neighborhood Spots

By ABBY GRUEN

With the increasing number of HIV/ AIDS victims, people all around the world are rushing into being tested. Because of the numbers being scarily high, organizations are beginning to take their social service stations to the streets, literally.
It is said that Westchester has the highest number of HIV/ AID fatalities outside of New York City. “‘We think that about 3,000 to 5,000 people in Westchester are H.I.V. positive,’ Dr. Lipsman said. Unfortunately, he said, 20 percent of those who are positive don’t know it.” With numbers that high, it could scare anyone into thinking that they could be the next statistic.
In December, health services have taken vans across the city to not only test for HIV and AIDS but for high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Some people might be worried that this act of testing people might not be affective, but I think that this is probably the easiest way for people to get tested. It’s not like they have to go to a doctor to go, but they could, for instance, be grocery shopping, see one of the vans, and decide that it would be a good idea to get tested.
Initially it might startle people to see medical type vans, waiting to test people, but I think that this method is less intimidating that going to see a doctor.