HopeHealth commemorates World Aids Day

FLORENCE, S.C. (December 3, 2018) – A large crowd braved the threat of inclement weather and turned out for the annual HopeHealth AIDSWalk at Central United Methodist Church in Florence on Saturday, Dec. 1. The walk concluded a successful week of community events commemorating HIV/AIDS and raising awareness of the epidemic’s continuing impact on our communities.

Now in its 21st year, AIDSWalk featured a free “Walking Tacos” lunch and an educational program with guest speaker Rick Felder. Felder, who has lived with AIDS for more than 30 years, discussed advances in HIV treatment and overcoming the stigma surrounding the disease.

The commemorative events kicked off Wednesday, Nov. 28, with the third annual Art & Music Showcase in Aiken co-sponsored by UNITY, a University of South Carolina – Aiken student support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, straight, and questioning students, faculty, and staff of the campus. The event featured a variety of talents such as spoken-word poetry, vocalists, and musicians as well as a selection of local artwork.

Additional performances followed Nov. 29 at The Broughton in Orangeburg for HopeHealth’s fifth annual TruthIz Spoken Word and Poetry Slam where community artists shared musical and poetic performances.

HopeHealth was founded in 1991 as a grassroots HIV/AIDS support organization and has grown to include 12 locations (10 community health centers and two infectious diseases treatment and prevention centers). With more than 70 providers, services continue to expand and include pediatric and primary care, dental care, chiropractic care, behavior health and psychiatry, pain management, substance use disorder treatment, and women’s health services.

HopeHealth is one of 23 nonprofit, federally qualified health centers in South Carolina. We provide quality and affordable health care services to individuals in Florence, Clarendon, and Williamsburg Counties and infectious diseases services in Aiken, Clarendon, Florence, Orangeburg, and Williamsburg Counties. To become a patient, call 843-667-9414 or visit hope-health.org.

HopeHealth

HopeHealth educates its patients on the importance of having a health care home. As a primary care facility, HopeHealth’s medical team works to prevent and detect illness and the early onset of disease, provide routine physical examinations and promote overall healthy lifestyles.