Prior to this in-office PCR technology, the best accuracy we ever had in a rapid test was maybe 85%. The ability to have near 100% accuracy means that I'm catching basically every case in every patient I see.

Before I was missing 10 or 15 patients per every 100 patients I was seeing, now I'm catching 99.9% of them right in my office the very first time I'm testing them. That has had a huge impact into how I practice medicine.

Whitney Engeran-Cordova:

Los Angeles is indicative of many other metropolitan areas in the United States seeing large increases in STI rates, and the number of cases have increased 36% over the last five years. AHF was really founded on the premise of taking care of people when they really needed it the most. We started here in Los Angeles, taking care of people who didn't have any place else to go. And over the years, we have expanded that mission into healthcare, and at this point, we have 455 healthcare centers serving over 800,000 people in 38 countries. And so we've found, along the way, that we've really had to address sexual health needs of our communities, and that has turned into a Wellness Center network around the country, where we work towards doing STD screening and treatment, along with our HIV services.

Patient 1:

When I came here and I was at a low point in my life, they was actually there to let me know, "We're here, we're here to help you, and you'll get your results back soon, and we'll take care of you." And it made me feel more like family.

Patient 2:

What I like about the Broward Wellness Center is the safe place feel to it. I can come here and I know that I'm not going to be judged. The staff is very, very kind and loving to everyone that comes in here.

Adam Sukhija-Cohen:

To truly have an impact on our patients, we have to ensure that not only are they being tested and treated, but that their partners are not getting infected. So we really want to nip this in the bud, and get that primary patient into our care by treating them for the infection that they may have, so that that doesn't spread to further populations.

Whitney Engeran-Cordova:

We want to be in the middle of that conversation, because we feel we've found a formula in our Wellness Centers that really works for many different folks.

Robert Parisi:

AHF has a huge presence in South Florida, and we have mobile units, we have fixed sites, we have healthcare centers, and we do the Florida AIDS Walk. Broward Wellness started in 2013, and we started out with about 75 patients, and now we're averaging between 140 and 150 patients per day.

Adam Sukhija-Cohen:

With this rising STD epidemic, that has no sign of slowing down at this point, we need to look for new, innovative technological point-of-care services that can really have an impact in the longterm. And that means that we want to make sure that they get those results as soon as possible.

Whitney Engeran-Cordova:

It's been clear to us that we had to figure out how to go fast, and one of the biggest places we need to go fast is in figuring out how to get the diagnostic work done quickly, and then deliver it to our patients in a way they're comfortable with, which means their phones.

Ramin Bastani:

That's where we're seeing over 90% of the hundreds of thousands of patients we've worked with access their information, is on their mobile phones. And now when you throw Cepheid into the mix, you're going to get test results back coming in the same day. And that hasn't happened in the US before.

Patient 1:

Once I come in this place and I'm walking out, I have my results the same day. That's what I love the most.

Ramin Bastani:

With AHF Wellness across the country where we work with them, it's over 90% of patients are saying, "Yeah, this was a good experience." And we hear about patients driving for five hours in some cases, just to go to the Wellness Centers that they have, because they know they're going to get this kind of experience that really treats them like a patient and a human being.

Patient 2:

I come here for the free testing. They do HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. It's super fast, super easy.

Lisa Zlotziver:

It's amazing how fast we can turn around patient results now. In less than two hours, we can have results, and they're valid results because the machine checks the sample, the adequacy, and the results are good. I stand behind my results.

Margaret Daley:

This organization is really at the top of its game because of this instrument. They're able to provide so much more than even a hospital lab could provide.

Robert Parisi:

AHF always goes above and beyond, and the collaboration with Cepheid will certainly bring us over the top. We'll definitely see more clients. And once again, it's about servicing the patients and reducing that anxiety, reducing the stigma, and making STIs just part of routine health testing.