Launching #NHASeverywhere. Our First Story: Minnesota’s Largest HIV/STD Clinic (Red Door)

To highlight the amazing work being done in communities across the country to help reach the goals detailed in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2022-2025) (NHAS), HIV.gov is launching #NHASeverywhere, a social media effort that will spotlight organizations and their ongoing work in communities that align with the NHAS. Each story will highlight an example of the collective efforts needed across the nation to end the HIV epidemic.

For our first #NHASeverywhere feature, we’re spotlighting a story from Red Door, a Hennepin County Public Health ClinicExit Disclaimer in Minneapolis, MN. Red Door’s work aligns with many NHAS objectives, and we’re specifically highlighting NHAS Objective 1.3: Expand and improve implementation of safe, effective prevention interventions, including treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and syringe services programs (SSPs), and develop new options.

Red Door opened in 1970 and is the largest HIV and STD clinic in Minnesota and a landmark for health care services in Hennepin County. The clinic is among the first clinics in Minnesota to offer PrEP, a medication that helps prevent people from acquiring HIV. Red Door’s HIV prevention program for men who have sex with men received an award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Patrick Ingram, Community Health Specialist and PrEP Coordinator, spoke with HIV.gov about how Red Door is increasing PrEP uptake.

“As an advocate thriving with HIV, I understand the importance of using a comprehensive lens to end the HIV epidemic,” Patrick shared. “The effectiveness of PrEP is scientifically proven, and Red Door is doing the necessary work to improve the uptake of PrEP among the populations most at-risk to HIV acquisition. Black, Latinx, and indigenous (especially those who are gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men) continue to be a priority to our clinic.” Red Door’s work to expand PrEP access and uptake is a notable example of the collective efforts needed to implement the NHAS and bring us closer to ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

The White House released the NHAS, the nation’s third HIV strategy, on World AIDS Day 2021. The NHAS sets forth bold targets for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030. NHAS articulates goals, objectives, and strategies to prevent new infections, treat people with HIV to improve health outcomes, reduce HIV-related disparities, and better integrate and coordinate the efforts of all partners to achieve the targets for ending the epidemic, including the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative. EHE is complementary to the NHAS and is a Department of Health and Human Services-led initiative that directs resources into 57 priority jurisdictions that account for more than half of U.S. HIV transmissions.

To learn more about the NHAS and its implementation throughout the country, follow our social media channels (FacebookExit Disclaimer , TwitterExit Disclaimer , and InstagramExit Disclaimer) and sign up for updates as HIV.gov will share more stories, like Red Door’s, from across the country about collective efforts needed to achieve the goals of the NHAS.