Our goal at Community Access Network is to provide you with current and highly relevant support. Through our sexual health clinic, we offer a range of services and products to improve and maintain your sexual health.
We understand that sexual wellness evolves over a lifetime and offer inclusive services for people of all genders, orientations, abilities, and ages in our community.
Our sexual health services include:
- Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing and treatment
- HIV testing and care including prevention, vaccination, testing, treatment, and support
- PrEP for qualifying clients
- Gender-affirming care
- HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
- Birth control consultations and emergency contraception
- Educational resources that cover birth control, sexually transmitted infection risk reduction, healthy relationships, decision-making, and community resources
- Free condoms, lube, and bleed-control supplies
To receive care:
We do not require a referral from another health care professional to use our services. Walk-ins are accepted, or you can call 434-818-7880 to make an appointment.
Reproductive Health
If you are pregnant, need pregnancy testing, reproductive healthcare, or any pregnancy-related services, our Gynecology department is here to help.
Judgment-Free Environment for HIV Services
Community Access Network is also home to Lynchburg’s Ryan White Care Clinic for HIV services. We serve Lynchburg and the surrounding counties in Central Virginia.
As part of our commitment to providing comprehensive services to our community, Community Access Network provides care to people living with HIV, regardless of ability to pay. For those who are uninsured or underinsured, the Ryan White Program provides financial assistance with medical and non-medical services. To schedule an appointment or speak with a Ryan White Care program case manager, please call 434-818-7880, option 7.
What is PrEP?
Did you know there are medications to prevent infection with HIV? With HIV infections on the rise, taking PrEP can help prevent you from becoming infected. PrEP is “pre-exposure prophylaxis.” This means you take it BEFORE you are exposed so you can prevent HIV infection. When taken as prescribed, PrEP is 99% effective at preventing new infections! There are several options for HIV prevention including medications you take by mouth, or an injection you receive every 8 weeks. PrEP is available to uninsured patients, those with private insurance, and those on Medicaid and Medicare. Schedule an appointment today to learn more.
About the Ryan White Program
Am I eligible for the Ryan White Program?
To be eligible for care through the Ryan White Program, you must:
- Be HIV positive
- Have an annual income of less than $64,400 annually for a 1-person household, or $87,100 for a 2-person household.
- Be a Virginia resident
- Not have health insurance or have insurance and are responsible for out-of-pocket costs, including medication copays or coinsurance for office visits
How do I get coverage?
- A clinic case manager will enroll you in the Ryan White Program if you are eligible. Ryan White is the payor of last resort, which means we will provide assistance with enrollment in other insurance options if possible.
- If you ever lose or have a lapse in your health insurance, please call 434-818-7880 option 7 immediately for assistance in obtaining other coverage. This is very important so you can continue to see your doctor, and get your medications.
What does Ryan White cover?
The Ryan White Program covers the costs of medical care and support services for both uninsured and insured eligible individuals. If you are uninsured, the Ryan White Program will cover the primary charge for the service and you may be responsible for a small copay. If you are insured, the Ryan White Program will provide assistance with your copays, coinsurance, and deductibles for eligible services.
Services Covered by the Ryan White Program:
- HIV clinic visits with an HIV-trained healthcare provider
- Labs: CD4 count and viral load, resistance testing
- Screening and treatment for tuberculosis (TB)
- Screening for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
- STI testing
- Routine immunizations administered in the clinic
- Some primary care provided in the clinic
- Smoking cessation treatment
- Dental care
- Behavioral health services
- Medical case management provided by HIV-trained staff
- Mental health screening and referral for treatment
- Addiction screening and treatment
- Condoms – external (aka, male) and internal (aka, female or insertable) – and lubricant
- Medication management of antiretrovirals and other HIV-related outpatient medications
Non-Covered Services:
- In-patient hospital care
- Emergency department care
- Care that is not HIV- or HIV-treatment related
Additional Information
Community Access Network receives Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding. The Ryan White program provides a nationwide, comprehensive system of care, including primary outpatient medical care and essential support services for people living with HIV who are uninsured or underinsured. The Ryan White program reaches 52% of all people living with HIV in the United States.
The Ryan White program is guided by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which has the following goals:
- Reduce new infections
- Increase access to care and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV
- Reduce HIV-related health disparities and health inequities
- Achieve a more coordinated national response to the HIV epidemic
Who was Ryan White?
Ryan White made headlines as a courageous AIDS activist in the 1980s for challenging discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients, and he became a voice for patients across the country.
Ryan was born in Indiana in 1971 and suffered from a hereditary medical condition, hemophilia, where his body had a difficult time coagulating, causing severe bleeding even after a minor injury. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 after receiving a blood transfusion.
When trying to return to school after his diagnosis, Ryan faced backlash from the school district, which barred him from attending classes. He gained national attention when Ryan and his family rallied for his right to attend school. He became a poster-child for the HIV/AIDS movement, which he used to stand in solidarity with other HIV-positive men and women by educating the public about the disease.
Ryan White passed away in 1990, but his memory is carried on through the Ryan White Care Act, which was passed by the United States Congress four months after he died. The Ryan White Care Act is the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS and continues to this day.
Ryan White was an inspiration and a leader in the fight to end discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and to provide hope that someday there will be a cure.
Sexual Health Resources:
- HIV Information: www.greaterthan.org
- PrEP: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html
- Undetectable= Untransmittable: https://www.preventionaccess.org/about
- LGBTQ Youth Suicide Prevention Hotline: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
- Trans peer support hotline: https://translifeline.org/
- Real Stories from LGBTQ: https://itgetsbetter.org/
- VA Disease Prevention Hotline: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/disease-prevention/contact-us/
