Prevent

Hyacinth HIV Testing: Free, Fast, and Confidential

Knowing your HIV status is an important first step in protecting your health and accessing the care and treatment you deserve. About 1 in 7 people in the United States living with HIV do not know they have it, making HIV testing one of the most important tools for improving health outcomes and preventing transmission.

Hyacinth provides free, confidential, and rapid HIV testing at locations throughout New Jersey, including Plainfield, Paterson, Jersey City, Union City, Trenton, and Newark. Testing is available by appointment and, when possible, on a walk-in basis.

You can schedule an appointment to be tested in any of these ways:

• Calling the regional office where you’d like to be tested
• Sending an email to [email protected]
• Via the Hyacinth Testing Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hyacinthtesting

Walk-ins are welcome; however, we recommend you call ahead to make sure a member of our testing staff will be available.

Your visit is designed to be confidential, supportive, and informative. Most appointments take approximately 20–30 minutes.

At your appointment, you can expect:

• A confidential discussion with a trained HIV Testing Counselor about your sexual health, HIV risk, and prevention options.
• Completion of a brief risk assessment and informed consent form before testing.
• A rapid HIV test using one of our FDA-approved testing technologies:
  • Alere Determine™ HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo – a rapid fingerstick blood test that can detect both HIV antibodies and the HIV-1 p24 antigen, allowing for earlier detection of HIV infection.
  • OraQuick® ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test – a rapid fingerstick blood test that detects HIV antibodies.
• Results are typically available in 20 minutes or less.

While your test is processing, your counselor will answer questions, discuss HIV prevention strategies, and provide education about PrEP, PEP, STI prevention, and other available services. Once your results are ready, a staff member will review them with you privately and provide any necessary referrals, including:

• HIV medical care and treatment
• PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis)
• PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis)
• STI testing and treatment
• Case management and support services
• Additional community resources

If a rapid HIV test is reactive (preliminary positive), Hyacinth will immediately assist you with confirmatory testing and linkage to HIV medical care.

At-Home HIV Self-Testing

Hyacinth also offers OraQuick® In-Home HIV Self-Test kits for individuals who prefer to test in the privacy of their own home.

These self-test kits:

• Are easy to use with simple step-by-step instructions.
• Provide results in approximately 20 minutes.
• Detect HIV antibodies using an oral swab.
• Include information on how to access support, confirmatory testing if needed, and linkage to HIV prevention or care services.

Our staff are available to answer questions before, during, or after self-testing and can assist with referrals regardless of your test result.

Hyacinth is committed to making HIV testing accessible throughout New Jersey through community outreach and mobile testing services.

Each year on National HIV Testing Day (June 27), Hyacinth partners with Greater Than AIDS and Walgreens to provide free HIV testing events across the state, helping connect hundreds of individuals to prevention and care services. In addition to our office locations, Hyacinth’s mobile testing units regularly participate in community events, health fairs, colleges, faith-based organizations, pharmacies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations throughout New Jersey.

Organizations interested in hosting a mobile HIV testing event can contact our Statewide CTR Program Manager Jacques Joseph [email protected]. To discuss scheduling and availability. Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hyacinthtesting

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes U=U this way: “A person with HIV who takes HIV medicine as prescribed and gets and stays virally suppressed, or ‘undetectable,’ can stay healthy and has effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners.”

The only way to know if you have achieved an undetectable viral load is through regular blood work. Taking HIV medication as prescribed and maintaining an undetectable viral load helps people living with HIV stay healthy and means they cannot sexually transmit HIV to their partners. Hyacinth will work closely with you to support treatment adherence, provide information about PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) if you or your partner are interested, and discuss your sexual health so that the focus remains on your relationship, wellness, and living life, not HIV.

Contact the Hyacinth Health & Wellness Clinic to schedule an appointment for consultation and blood work.

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

PrEP

People who may be exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use can significantly reduce their risk of acquiring HIV through pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. PrEP is a medication taken by people who do not have HIV to help prevent HIV infection. It is available as daily oral medication and long-acting injectable options.When taken as prescribed, PrEP is highly effective, reducing the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and from injection drug use by at least 74%.Hyacinth can help you learn whether PrEP is right for you, connect you to care, and provide information and support to help you make informed decisions about your sexual health.

Hyacinth’s PrEP counselors follow federal guidelines when screening candidates for the PrEP program. Generally, PrEP is recommended for HIV-negative people who:

• Inject drugs and have an HIV-positive partner or share needles or syringes
• Have had anal or vaginal sex in the past 6 months with an HIV-positive partner

Hyacinth’s PrEP counselors educate clients who have tested negative for HIV about the PrEP program and how it might help them. They conduct program intake interviews to better understand each client’s sexual behavior and other lifestyle choices. Next, PrEP candidates are referred to a healthcare provider for a physical screening and additional tests. If the client is cleared by the doctor to enter PrEP, he or she will receive a prescription for one of the approved HIV medications.

HIV medications can be expensive even when insurance significantly lowers the cost. Hyacinth PrEP counselors can help you complete paperwork for programs that reduce co-pays for insured clients or provide uninsured patients with the medication free of charge.

The healthcare providers Hyacinth works with accept insurance, and most can cover some costs through charity care or other hospital programs. Payment for blood work is sometimes covered under insurance, but PrEP counselors may also be able to financially assist with these payments.