Testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can bring unexpected changes to your life.
At Allegheny Health Network (AHN), you won’t face these changes alone. Our Positive Health Clinic (PHC) uses a team approach to meet the medical, emotional, and practical needs of people living with HIV. We also provide advanced HIV testing and long term primary care based on your needs.
HIV is a condition that attacks your immune system, meaning you lose your ability to fight infections. Unlike other viruses that go away over time, the HIV virus will always be in your body. Good HIV care can help you stay healthy and lower your risk of developing complications, such as AIDS.
HIV does not discriminate; therefore it is important to get regular testing if you are sexually active, and especially if you have unprotected sex or if you share injection equipment as these are the main ways HIV can be spread from person to person.
You can get high quality health care for HIV whether you have insurance or not. We are a Ryan White Care Act-funded program, which means you can receive many of our specialized HIV care services regardless of your insurance coverage or ability to pay. Our social workers can provide detailed explanations about what benefits this funding covers and can also help you find affordable coverage if you do not have it.
With proper treatment, people living with HIV are living long and healthy lives thanks in part to new medications. In fact, according to the CDC, when taking medicine for HIV results in the level of HIV in your blood being very low or undetectable, HIV can’t be sexually transmitted. This is where Undetectable = Untransmittable or U=U comes from.
Additionally, specialized support services found at PHC can help you reclaim happiness and freedom from some of the challenges you may be facing, which attribute to your overall health as well.
At the Positive Health Clinic for HIV care, you’ll benefit from our:
It takes a village to effectively treat HIV — and our village is large.
Our HIV care team includes specialists in:
If you think you have HIV, we can get you answers in as little as 20 minutes with rapid HIV testing.
If you are concerned about your partner's risk for HIV after unprotected sex or another exposure like syringe sharing, we offer partner testing. We can also refer patients to a program for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), which is a daily HIV prevention medication for people who are HIV negative but at high risk for acquiring HIV. Our services also include counseling to help you understand what test results mean and the next steps in your care. We can also refer patients to a syringe access program to help prevent HIV transmission through injection equipment.
Lastly, if you think you have been exposed to HIV through sex or injection equipment, and it has been less than 72 hours since that event, post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP is available in all Allegheny Health Network Emergency Departments. PHC will follow up with you afterwards with next steps. PEP is HIV medication taken for 28 days to prevent HIV after a high risk exposure.
We offer:
