Free HIV testing at Liberty Baptist Church June 29

From press release

Winnebago County Health Department, with funding from the Illinois Department of Public Health Center for Minority Health Services, is sponsoring free HIV testing from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,Tuesday June 29, at Liberty Baptist Church, 3500 Preston St., Rockford. The event is open to the public and is in recognition of National HIV Testing Day (June 27).

The Illinois Department of Public Health is funding this initiative through a statewide HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeted to minority populations (BASUAH—Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS). Illinois has the seventh-highest number of AIDS cases in the nation, with more than 41,000 reported cases since 1981. Of those diagnosed with AIDS, about 20,000 have died.

As of May 31, there were almost 60,000 HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in Illinois.

As of December 2009, there were 551 AIDS cases diagnosed in Winnebago County. Of those, 222 are still living (cumulative number since January 1981). As of December 2009, there were 160 HIV cases diagnosed in Winnebago County, of those 146 are still living (cumulative number since July 1999).

Contact Mark Hunter, Black Male Health coordinator, at (815) 720-4268 for more information.