Niagara County Department of Health Announces Re-Opening of Sexual Health Clinic

The Niagara County Department of Health (NCDOH) announces the reopening of the Sexual Health Clinic on April 5, 2022. The Sexual Health Clinic has been closed since March 2020 as a result of Niagara County’s COVID-19 response. “Our Sexual Health Clinic provides low-cost, comprehensive sexual health services, and we are pleased to re-open our doors to the community,” stated Public Health Director Daniel Stapleton. The NCDOH Sexual Health Clinic offers confidential testing, treatment and referrals for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for anyone 12 years of age and older (parental consent is not needed). Niagara County Department of Health will be partnering with Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center (NFMMC) whose medical providers will work side by side with NCDOH clinical staff. “This partnership supports our collective goal to help end the HIV epidemic, eliminate Hepatitis B and C, and to successfully prevent and control sexually transmitted infections,” commented Adrienne Kasbaum Director of Nursing. Here are the highlights of our partnership to provide the best healthcare services to our clients:

Rapid HIV testing – Detect infection as early as 10 days from exposure, results ready in 20 minutes and all it takes is a finger stick
Rapid Hepatitis C testing (HCV) – Results are ready in 20 minutes and only requires a finger stick (same one can be used for both HIV and HCV)
Linkage to care– Partnership with community providers to provide follow-up services to anyone who does not have a physician and is HIV or Hepatitis C positive
Safe Zone designation –The clinic is part of the network of visible allies for the LGBTQ community, Partnership with NFMMC to provide PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for prevention of HIV, Immunization consult for recommended vaccines such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Tdap and more.

“We are excited to partner with the Niagara County Department of Health to provide sexual health services to our community. This partnership will provide immediate access to testing and treatment for common sexually transmitted infections and also provide seamless transition of care to our ID (infectious disease) clinic for patients who need ongoing care of infections like Hepatitis C and HIV,” said Dr. Rajinder Bajwa, Chief of Infectious Disease at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Medical Director of the NCDOH Sexual Health Clinic.

The Sexual Health Clinic is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; no appointment is necessary. For questions, please contact the Niagara County Department of Health Nursing Division at (716) 278-1900.