WATERVILLE — A free, community-based HIV and hepatitis C testing program has been introduced to the Waterville and Augusta area, in an effort to reach uninsured and underinsured people who are at risk of contracting the viruses.

The Down East AIDS Network and Health Equity Alliance, a statewide health care nonprofit organization, set up a free testing site in April in Augusta and launched its Waterville location last month.

A free clinic for HIV/hepatitis C testing opened in April at 9 Green St. in Augusta. A similar one, also run by the Down East AIDS Network and Health Equity Alliance, is opening at the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church in Waterville. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

While new HIV diagnoses are holding steady in the state, the number of hepatitis C cases has increased dramatically, according to data from the Maine Centers for Disease Control.

The aim is to reach people with no health insurance or who are underinsured and are at risk of contracting either HIV or hepatitis C, said Vanessa Macoy, the group’s community outreach coordinator for central Maine. The hope is the Waterville clinic will draw in people from parts of Franklin and Somerset counties, she added.

The group is reaching out primarily to people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — or LGBT — population and those struggling with addiction.

Although most people go to a doctor’s office or medical clinic to get tested, the people her program targets are more likely to avoid a clinic setting out of fear that they will singled out or treated unfairly, Macoy said.

“We’re reallying working to meet people where they are, versus trying to get them to go to a doctor’s office, which is a high barrier place and might produce anxiety from previous experiences,” Macoy said.

Instead, the testing center in Waterville will be in the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church at 61 Pleasant St. Appointments aren’t required and all the testing is confidential. The tests take about 20 minutes. While waiting for results, workers consult with clients, asking about their history and talking about plans for staying healthy. A client who gets a positive test result will get help in having a second test to confirm the diagnosis and will be connected with services to help if the client is infected.

Macoy said the program takes a realistic, nonjudgmental approach to working with its clients.

“I really try not to preach,” Macoy said. “Me wagging a finger and saying, ‘You have to use a condom every time,’ isn’t going to help.”

The Augusta site is on Green Street, in the same building as a needle exchange, which helps with outreach to people at risk, Macoy said. It will take time to develop a critical mass for the program, Macoy said. It can take a long time for someone who suspects he or she might be infected to get tested.

“Most of the people who come in to get tested know they have some risk factor, so it can take a little time to be receptive to getting results,” Macoy said.

Some days at the Augusta location will be back to back, while on other days only one or two people walk through the door.

So far, outreach has consisted of fliers around Waterville and Augusta and a lot of word-of-mouth.

There isn’t one demographic that represents the people who are getting tested. Macoy said that she has seen men and women in their teens all the way up to age 70, and across every ethnicity.

“I don’t think there is a single face for people coming in to get tested,” she said.

While there is a widespread awareness about human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, and how it is transmitted, hepatitis C is less well-known, even as cases in the state increase.

Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by a the blood-borne hepatitis C virus, or HCV. The virus can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, liver failure and death. The primary cause of transmission is sharing contaminated needles and syringes, but can be passed through sexual contact, birth to an infected mother or injury from a contaminated needle or sharp object.

According to Maine CDC data, the incidence of acute hepatitis C has skyrocketed in the past year, from nine cases reported in 2013 to 31 reported last year. Newly reported cases of chronic hepatitis C numbered 1,425 last year, an 11 percent increase from 2013.

Of the patients who tested positive in 2014, 68 percent responded that they had injected drugs six months before the onset of symptoms.

“We need much more conversation around hepatitis C, because it is on the rise in Maine and most people have no idea what it is,” Macoy said.

Outside of offering testing, Macoy hopes to build outreach to the LGBT population in the Waterville-area, through events such as Central Maine Pride, an afternoon festival held in early June.

“Waterville has been a very welcoming community for us,” she said.

The free testing is held on the first and third Thursdays of the month at the Methodist Church at 61 Pleasant Street. The next testing date is July 16.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: PeteL_McGuire

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