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Health department, new testing provider and community groups flag rising HIV/STI cases and service gaps after local foundation closure
Summary
Public-health officials reported rising diagnoses and racial disparities in HIV and syphilis; the county health officer, a contracted testing provider and community organizations described testing work, recent positive cases among people experiencing homelessness, and persistent gaps left by the closure of the Pierce County AIDS Foundation.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department leaders and community providers told the council on April 9 that Pierce County continues to see HIV and syphilis cases, notable racial disparities and service gaps after the local AIDS foundation closed.
Dr. Jay Miller, health officer for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, said the county has seen a relatively stable number of newly diagnosed HIV cases in recent years but that preliminary 2024 data showed a rise in new diagnoses to 73 cases. Miller emphasized disparities in prevalence, saying case rates per 100,000 population are substantially higher in Pierce County’s Black or African American community and elevated for Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native residents as well.
Why it matters: Presenters said timely testing, partner services, case investigation and supportive services remain essential to identifying infections, linking people to treatment and preventing onward transmission. Community providers told the council that the shutdown of a long-standing local AIDS service organization has left gaps in psychosocial support, testing access and housing assistance for people living with or at risk of HIV.
Miller described the health department’s work: the STI program receives mandatory case reports, performs interviews, locates exposed partners, provides testing and connects people to treatment. He described field outreach to people who are unhoused, site-based testing events, and a focus on HIV and syphilis given resource constraints.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which began operating in Pierce County in 2024, said its mobile testing unit and new Tacoma clinic deliver rapid HIV testing and STI panels at community sites, libraries and service centers. AHF representatives told the council that in February — the month they began HIV rapid testing locally — they ran 32 rapid tests and identified eight HIV positives; most of those positive tests involved people experiencing homelessness, and the provider said locating and linking a small number of those people to care remained challenging.
Community organizations and service providers urged the council to support comprehensive services beyond testing, including stable housing for older long-term survivors, peer support groups, food and other wraparound services that were previously provided by the Pierce County AIDS Foundation (PCAF). Representatives from AHAT Home Care, Oasis Youth Center and local long‑term survivors described the need for psychosocial services, youth-focused testing and housing-based case management.
Council members asked about age breakdowns and program reach; Dr. Miller said staff would follow up with more age-specific data. Presenters did not request votes; they asked the council to help restore or fund the non-medical services and housing supports that local advocates say are missing.
Quotes are attributed to the health-department and community speakers who appeared at the April 9 meeting.
