VCC is helping community residents get access to expert medical education on STIs, HIV, and testing options, for free, at their VCC: Horne clinic location, 517 N. Horne Street in Oceanside. The clinic’s Site Director, Dr. Ponsford, has dedicated every Wednesday from 3:15-4:15 to providing education, testing, and follow up visits for sexual health services. Anyone 15 years and older interested in being seen can come in during the drop-in hour to learn how they can stay safe and, if necessary, get treatment.
Health conversations are very single-issue focused, and VCC wants to remind the community that health is multi layered. STIs are common in the U.S. with 1 in 5 people testing positive, totaling nearly 68 million infections nation-wide. Of these, almost half come from young patients, 15-24 years old.
The open-clinic hour is accessible to anyone regardless of gender identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation or immigration status. There are no appointments necessary and everything is kept completely confidential. Anyone interested in learning more can call or text 844.308.5003. Patients should rest assured that all communication is kept private and all visits are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
About Vista Community Clinic
With nine state-of-the-art locations in North San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties, VCC provides affordable, high quality health care to more than 70,000 community residents. Services offered by VCC include primary care, pediatrics, prenatal and women’s health, optometry, chiropractic care, dental health, podiatry, acupuncture, transgender care and behavioral health services. VCC also offers a wide array of community health education programs which are free and open to all community residents. VCC is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, and is the recipient of the HRSA National Quality Leader Seal for exceeding national clinical quality benchmarks.
For more information call: 760.631.5000 or visit www.vcc.org.
Media Contacts:
Allison Madsen
Communications Specialist
Allison.c.madsen@vcc.org
760.631.5000 x7196
Betsy Heightman
Chief Development Officer
Betsy@vcc.org
760.631.5000 x1139
