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Free blood testing for HIV, Hep C, syphilis offered Thursday in Red Deer

Anyone can drop by from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bower Ponds pavilion
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Shining Mountains Living Community Services program manager Kandace Ogilvie, left, and Kevin Cunningham, a health promotion outreach worker at Turning Point, hold up information pamphlets about HIV treatment and prevention. (Black Press file photo).

Free testing will be done for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis at Red Deer’s Bower Ponds Pavilion on Thursday as part of a study undertaken by Shining Mountains Living Community Services.

Anyone can drop by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for testing, which will involve a finger prick and dry blood spot testing, said program manager Kandace Ogilvie.

Ogilvie notes there’s a syphilis outbreak in Alberta of a strain of bacteria that’s more resistant to antibiotics.

The group is, meanwhile, working in partnership with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network on a research project to build a Metis-specific wrap-around service model in response to HIV/AIDS in the Metis community.

The project will be introduced to the community on Thursday afternoon, and public input will be gathered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the pavilion.