Education & Prevention
The Bottom Line night club in Fort Myers partnered with ICAN on Sunday, June 27th for National HIV Testing Day. The club offered patrons a free barbeque and gave ICAN's Director of Education and Prevention Dan Mitton and his crew of volunteers a private area to conduct free and confidential HIV tests. Twenty five people came to the club to take advantage of the tests which were conducted with a simple oral swab, the same method used by ICAN on a daily basis at the McGregor Boulevard offices. The annual testing day was also the topic of an hour long talk show on WGCU-FM (NPR) the previous Wednesday. Host Luis Hernandez interviewed Dan Mitton of ICAN, Dr. Terese Taylor, M.D. of ICAN's Board of Directors and Jim Yarnes of the Florida Department of Health on HIV/AIDS. The program drew many phone calls from listeners throughout Southwest Florida with questions that ranged from modern day myths about HIV/AIDS to the cost of medications. Our thanks to The Bottom Line, the Department of Health and WGCU Public Media for helping ICAN take positive steps towards improving the public's knowledge about the importance of HIV testing.
ICAN is constantly striving to prevent new HIV infections by equipping individuals with the facts about HIV/AIDS and changing their risky behavior. ICAN offers HIV/AIDS education presentations to probationers, schools, civic organizations, professionals, churches and clients. Since the majority of people with HIV do not know that they have the virus, ICAN encourages you to exercise your right and obligation to know your HIV status by taking a free and confidential HIV Test. Knowledge is power and prevention...click here to see how ICAN is changing lives. The United Way of Lee County partially funds the educational services of the agency. Education Staff:
- , Director of Education & Prevention, HIV Counselor & Tester
- Maria Puig, HIV Educator Spanish and English Language VOICES/VOCES and HIV Counselor & Tester
