HIV & STI Screening

Get tested and know your status! The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine's Connect 4 Youth initiative provides free and confidential HIV/STI and drug/alcohol prevention screening. We also provide PrEP prescriptions for individuals up to 24 years of age. Screening includes:

  • HIV
  • Syphilis
  • Gonorrhea
  • Chlamydia
  • Trichomoniasis
  • Drug/alcohol prevention screening

Call or text 312.487.2179 for an appointment or to inquire about walk-in availability. To download a flyer with more information, click here


Re-Engage in Care!

If you are HIV positive (i.e. test positive for HIV), you can access care via Lurie Children’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program. Established in 1987, the HIV/AIDS Prevention Program cares for more children and adolescents than any other pediatric HIV service provider in the region.

A number of treatment options help to prolong and greatly improve the quality of lives for those living with HIV. Benefit include:

  • HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in your blood (aka your viral load). Keeping the viral load as low as possible (aka undetectable) keeps the immune system functioning. This prevents severe illnesses and keeps you healthy.
  • When a person on HIV treatment reaches an undetectable viral load, this also prevents sexual transmission of HIV to others. This is referred to undetectable = untransmissible.
  • Taking HIV treatment as prescribed decreases the risk of developing drug resistance. Drug resistance can make future treatment more difficult.

To schedule an HIV/AIDS Treatment appointment:

Call 312.227.6280


Additional Supports 

Lurie Children’s can support with the navigating/applying for public benefits (e.g. SNAP, SSI, insurance, etc.) as well as medication assistance programs (e.g. ADAP or Gilead Advancing Access) if eligible. Lurie Children’s also offers individual supportive counseling, as well as groups for young adults living with HIV. The Young Adults Group is a supportive environment for teens and young adult patients of the Lurie Children’s SID Clinic. The group is a safe space where we discuss shared experiences/challenges, mental health, isolation, stigma, disclosure, self-esteem, goals, community, relationships, personal growth, etc. We meet at 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month for an hour on Zoom. The group is open to anyone living with HIV that attends the SID clinic.

Our Team

Certified counselors will provide on-site, free, confidential HIV STI screening sessions, as well as safer sex counseling.

Hours/Location

Lurie Children’s Outpatient Services at 1440 N. Dayton

Please contact us to schedule an appointment or to check walk-in availability and off-site options. Call or text 312.487.2179 or email healthed@luriechildrens.org.

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Materials

Partners are essential to the collective community health. Please feel free to post and share our location information and materials.

Download Our PrEP & HIV resource Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

The CDC recommends testing every 3-6 months if you are a sexually active person. It is important to be tested, and treated, if necessary, not only for your health but the health of your partners. The sooner you know of an infection the faster we can get you and your partners in for treatment.

You can expect the visit to last between 20-35 minutes. A certified counselor will take a brief sexual and “risk” history, followed by the screening process.

We use a rapid finger stick/prick screener for HIV and for syphilis.

We offer rectal, vaginal, throat swabs and urine samples for gonorrhea and chlamydia.

All of our HIV/STI counselors are certified and trained to help you through the screening process.

Still a little nervous? Watch this video to see an example of how your HIV screening experience will look.

Since HIV is a chronic disease (meaning you have it for the rest of your life), there is no cure, but there are a variety of medical treatment options for HIV-positive individuals. These treatments ensure folks are able to have healthy bodies, similar to how they would if they were not HIV-positive. If results show you as positive for HIV, Lurie Children's HIV screening team will help connect you to medical care. Folks who are 22 or older will be connected to long term care that best fits your needs.

We are able to treat for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and trichomoniasis if you are between the ages of 12 and 24 for FREE. If you are older than 24, we will help you find a location where you can be treated.

Absolutely! We provide PrEP prescriptions for individuals up to 24 years of age.

For further questions, please email healthed@luriechildrens.org.

Philanthropy

Your support is vital in helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families. The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine relies on philanthropic funding to enhance its programs, services and research for adolescents and young adults. To learn more, please e-mail the Ann Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation at foundation@luriechildrens.org or call 312.227.7500

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