binx health and Birmingham AIDS Outreach Launch New Program to Improve Access to HIV and STI Testing Amid Surging Infection Rates

Sassy Little Box Program Powered by binx everywhere Digital Platform & Logistics Makes At-Home Self-Collection Kits Available Through Community Partners

BOSTON and BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO), Alabama’s leading advocacy organization for people living with HIV/AIDS, and binx health, a healthcare technology and diagnostics company focused on making routine testing convenient, launch the Sassy Little Box program to enable access to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and care at the community level. The Sassy Little Box program aims to serve at-risk communities throughout the greater Birmingham area and leverages years of partnership between BAO and the LGBTQ+ community, providing a coordinated community response to address disproportionately high HIV and STI incidence rates in Jefferson County, Alabama.

The new Sassy Little Box program enhances BAO’s testing services by engaging patients through local partnerships to distribute HIV/STI self-collection kits to the community. Each Sassy Little Box includes self-collection materials and easy to follow instructions in English and Spanish to screen for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis in a private space of their choosing, without having to visit a clinic to access necessary care and treatment.

“To change the trajectory of healthcare, we need to rethink how we engage with the communities we serve,” said Josh Bruce, Director of Prevention Education at BAO. “BAO is always trying new and innovative ways to provide HIV and STD testing services in the community. By collaborating with local businesses to provide free, convenient, and access to discreet take-home HIV/STD sample collection kits we hope to empower people to know their status. Along with our partners, we are bringing sexual health and wellness out of the shadows.”

Alabama has some of the highest HIV and STI infection rates in the United States1 and Jefferson County has the one of highest infection rates within the state of Alabama.2 BAO and binx health are taking the necessary steps to increase access to care and essential supportive services through convenient, discreet, affordable, and reliable HIV/STI testing. The program engages a network of trusted grassroots partners that cater to high-risk populations, including Latinos, Blacks, and the LGBTQ+ community to reach those in need.

"Bringing sample collection and local care connectivity directly to where people live, work, shop, and socialize helps increase access to care and reduce the stigma associated with sexually transmitted infections and HIV." said Kalli Glanz, Director of Market Access at binx health. "We are honored to be working with BAO and the community-based partners involved in this novel screening program."

Alabama residents looking to learn more information about the Sassy Little Box program and how to access kits, please reach out to BAO josh@birminghamaidsoutreach.org or visit www.BAOBHM.org. If you are an organization looking to learn more about a program that can increase access to care for your populations, please contact binx health at marketaccess@mybinxhealth.com.

About Birmingham AIDS Outreach

The mission of BAO is to enhance the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS, at-risk, affected individuals, and the LGBTQ community through outreach, age-appropriate prevention education, and supportive services. In April 2014, BAO opened a LGBTQ Youth Center, the Magic City Acceptance Center (MCAC) offering all programs free of charge including legal clinics, counseling services, HIV/STI testing and education, art classes, drop-in hours, and health and wellness workshops. In January 2016 BAO also opened the Magic City Wellness Center offering primary medical care focused on the LGBTQ community. 

About binx health

binx is a healthcare technology and diagnostics company that is leading the way to accessible routine testing by partnering with primary care, public health, retail health, universities, and leaders in HIV prevention and sexual health to reach underserved populations and impede the spread of infection. The Company’s omnichannel platform is the only healthcare delivery model designed to reach people in-clinic and at-home with novel access modalities focused on the patient. binx is paving the way to improve population health issues at scale in partnership with those on the front lines of care. The Company’s dual-care offerings include the binx io, the first ever FDA-cleared, CLIA-waived, point-of-care chlamydia and gonorrhea test for males and females providing central lab performance results in about thirty minutes, and binx everywhere, a physician-mediated, secure, and highly configurable technology platform that integrates self-collection with laboratory testing and follow-up. binx’s proprietary platforms enable organizations to broaden access to care, promote health equity, and connect all key stakeholders of healthcare delivery in a seamless, evidence-based manner that engenders consumer delight.

binx everywhere may not be available outside of the U.S.

AIDS: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

HIV: Human immunodeficiency viruses

LBGTQ+: Lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer and other sexual identities including pansexual and Two-Spirit.

1 https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/std/assets/std_annualreport_2020.pdf

2 https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/std/assets/stdreport_jan2019-sept2022.pdf

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