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KCHD’s Service Spotlight: Clinical Health Services
June 22, 2021

This week’s spotlight highlights KCHD’s Center of Excellence clinic


KNOXVILLE — The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) Centers of Excellence (COE) clinic provides care to those living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Knox and the fifteen surrounding counties. Although there is no cure for HIV infection, there are treatment options that can help those directly impacted by HIV live long and productive lives. The COE clinic provides HIV and medical case management, specialty medical care, and nutritional and pharmaceutical counseling.

In 2018 Knox County had 51 people newly diagnosed with HIV, bringing the total to 1,088 people in Knox County living with HIV, as of 2018, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates approximately 1.2 million people or about 1 in 7 of those with the virus do not realize they have it, which means they may unknowingly pass it to others too.

Knowing your HIV status and getting tested is a critical first step in getting life-saving treatment. KCHD will recognize National HIV Testing Day by offering rapid, confidential HIV testing free of charge at the main health department, 140 Dameron Ave., on Friday, June 25 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Testing is also available at KCHD’s Communicable Disease Control Clinic throughout the year.

Additionally, KCHD serves those living with HIV by hosting Heart Healthy Cooking Classes, designed just for them.

“We provide heart healthy cooking classes to people living with HIV to promote a heart healthy lifestyle, because some HIV medications can put people at an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” said Mikaela McIver, nutritionist for KCHD. “Heart health is an especially important topic for people living with HIV, so we aim to provide people with recipes, tools and skills needed to cook healthy meals on a budget using ingredients that they may already have in their pantry.”

More information on the COE clinic, including eligibility requirements and HIV care, is available by calling 865-215-5081; more information about sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing is available by calling 865-215-5371.

About Knox County Health Department
The first health department in Tennessee to achieve national voluntary accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board, the Knox County Health Department (KCHD) is dedicated to ensuring the conditions in which every resident can be healthy. As a chief health strategist for the community and with more than 240 team members, KCHD’s broad scope of work includes convening partners to improve community health, identifying community health threats, investigating disease outbreaks, conducting extensive outreach and education, preparing for public health emergencies, providing and connecting the public with medical care, enforcing food safety and air quality laws, and more. For more information, visit www.knoxcounty.org/health.



Previous Spotlights:
Community Health
Tobacco Use Prevention and Control


















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