For students who are concerned about whether they have contracted the HIV/AIDS virus, the Student Health Center offers free and confidential testing.

Since the testing facility is funded by the state of Iowa, all residents of Iowa, not just Iowa State students, can use the center’s services.

“It’s open to everyone in the state,” said Randy Mayer, interim supervisor for prevention, education and outreach at the Student Health Center.

Mary Selby, supervisor of nursing services, said 704 tests were administered last year. The results are not determined by blood but instead by a test called Orasure, which is inserted into the person’s mouth to collect cells from the inside cheek.

“It collects antibodies from the tissues,” Mayer said. “It’s not an invasive sort of test — there’s no drawing of blood. It’s kind of like a toothbrush.”

The results of the test are usually back within a week, Mayer said.

“It’s confidential; we don’t give results over the phone,” he said. “[The staff] gives post-test counseling if the [results are positive]. We don’t want to just leave that person on their own, we make referrals.”

Although the staff will not disclose the results over the phone, Selby said the person may call and ask if his or her results are ready.

Mayer said that sometimes a negative result gives “a second chance for us to do some education and talk to them about their behaviors.”

Selby said the procedure for getting tested requires the person to give a name, but it does not have to be his or her real name. The testing is no longer anonymous, but it is still confidential, she said.

The new law about anonymity was enacted in July, Selby said.

“We call a lot of people back for a lot of things [at the station], and they can give any first name they want to,” she said. “We’ve had guys give a girl’s name — we don’t care.”

Five nurses handle the counseling of the people who go to the health center to be tested, Selby said.

“They’ve all been trained through the state of Iowa,” she said. Both pre-testing and post-testing counseling are available, Selby said.

Mayer said because of the center’s funding, the counselors stress to students that “they really have a true risk” of having contracted the HIV/AIDS virus.

“We don’t want to discourage anybody who’s really had some possibility of being exposed,” Mayer said.

Several of the high-risk behaviors for contracting HIV/AIDS include having a partner who had been infected by the virus, having a partner who was an IV-drug user, already having a sexually transmitted disease, having unprotected oral, anal or vaginal sex, sharing needles for IV drug use and having multiple sex partners.

“We talk about risk behaviors and talk to them about what their concerns are,” Selby said.

Counselors also inform people who test positive that the tests are not always 100 percent accurate. In such cases, there are follow-up tests, she said.

When taking the test, Selby said people should be sure they have engaged in high-risk behaviors, and they should realize it takes time for the HIV virus to appear in the test.

“She said that sometimes a person will come in who “got drunk and had intercourse, and they might come in two days later or the next day to us and want to be tested. [The test] is not going to be positive yet; it’s better off to cross your fingers and use a condom under all conditions … and come back in six months.”

Selby said there are many reasons why people who engage in high-risk behaviors should consider being tested.

“[AIDS] is a serious problem — it’s not something that there is a cure for,” Selby said. “That’s one thing that is good about the counseling. If you’re negative, [it may be] a wake-up call [that] you just can’t continue risky behaviors without someday having a bad outcome.”

Despite the fact that the center administered 704 tests last year, Selby said there has not seen “a whole lot of tests” coming back positive.

Confidentiality is highly respected and enforced at the center, Selby said.

Based on a new state law, Selby said the Iowa Department of Public Health, with the permission of the person who has tested positive, will notify the his or her past sexual partners.

Mayer said it is important for infected persons to discover early that they have HIV because of the new medical advancements in treatment.

To use the services at the testing center, students and Iowa residents can go to the resource nurse desk, located on the first floor of the Student Health Center. The testing center is open Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.