LOS ANGELES — FLEX Spas, a national chain of gay men’s health spas, has announced a new partnership with AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) aimed at bolstering HIV testing and awareness among high-risk populations through the use of technology. Under a pilot program with AHF, FLEX Spas’ club on Melrose Avenue here became the first in the industry to install an electronic vending machine that dispenses in-home HIV testing kits.
The testing kits will be provided to FLEX patrons for free by AHF, the largest AIDS organization in the United States.
“FLEX Spas is pleased to partner with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation on this groundbreaking effort,” said Todd J. Saporito, President/CEO of FLEX Spas. “FLEX Spas has a unique opportunity to reach consumers, influence health awareness and link our patrons to appropriate care through this initiative. AHF’s strategy of delivering health services and care perfectly aligns with our business model, as champions of the marriage of testing and care.”
“AHF is excited to extend the reach of modern technology by placing at-home HIV testing kits in electronic vending machines,” said Lori Mizuno, Director of Public Health for AHF. “This innovative partnership with FLEX Spas promotes convenient HIV testing 24 hours a day, including after hours when healthcare workers are not testing on site. With the ease of buying a pack of gum, high-risk populations can now access free, in-home HIV testing kits from a vending machine and learn their status within minutes.”
The vending machine features OraSure Technologies’ OraQuick® In-Home HIV Test, the FDA-approved oral fluid rapid OTC HIV test that can detect antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 with an oral swab in as little as 20 minutes. To access the complimentary testing kits, users will anonymously answer five demographic questions via an accompanying iPad kiosk and receive an access code to enter into the vending machine; users may receive up to two testing kits with each code. Each kit will include information on HIV testing and care providers, along with AHF’s 24-hour care hotline (213) 304-8151.
The partnership is the second between FLEX and AHF, which began last year to provide free condoms for distribution at the company’s spas in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Cleveland. AHF also has enabled FLEX to double the hours of testing it offers at its Los Angeles club to 30 hours a week or more. FLEX now offers HIV testing at night, when other facilities are closed, and provides testing for sexually transmitted diseases, putting it at the forefront of the industry.
