APLA Holds Health Fair at Gleicher/Chen Health Center

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7, APLA Health & Wellness is hosting a community health fair at its brand-new Gleicher / Chen Health Center in Baldwin Hills.

The health fair is a casual, informative event for neighborhood residents and anyone else who would like to learn more about the free and low-cost services APLA Health & Wellness provides. Attendees will take a tour of the new health center and receive a "passport" to fill up as they visit stations to "try out" services such as dental checks, flu vaccinations ($5 each while supplies last), STD screening and HIV testing, and health plan enrollment assistance.

Guests will also be offered raffle tickets and prizes such as gift cards simply by visiting each of the stations. The upbeat atmosphere of the health fair will be complemented by live music and free food throughout the afternoon. Volunteers from Paramount Pictures will be assisting APLA Health & Wellness during the event.

Events like this are funded by APLA's fundraising events, including the February 22 party, "The Envelope Please: An Oscar Viewing Party" and the May 9 Southland Theater Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.).

The Abbey Food and Bar has played host for more than 10 years to this celebratory bash, which has raised over $1.5 million for APLA's vital services. The 14th annual party features a VIP red carpet cocktail reception, celebrity host Pauley Perrette of TV's "NCIS," a seated dinner, and public party following the show. Tickets for "The Envelope, Please" are available online at apla.org/oscars.

S.T.A.G.E. is the world's longest running musical theatre benefit for HIV/AIDS. The curtain rises May 9 on the 31st annual production, "To Broadway, From Hollywood... With Love," which will showcase music from Broadway shows that originated as Hollywood feature films, performed by an all-star cast and produced by S.T.A.G.E. stalwart David Galligan. Since it first bowed in 1984, the event has featured more than 300 stars of Broadway, film, and television, who have performed music from the Great White Way while raising millions of dollars for APLA and other HIV/AIDS organizations in the Los Angeles area.

Each event offers a unique experience in itself, from a black-tie dinner with Hollywood A-listers or a boisterous evening of song and performance to a cocktail party and auction surrounded by stunning artworks and artists and a purpose-filled walk through city streets with 25,000 people in the name of helping others. They all share one thing in common, however: they support the vital services that APLA and APLA Health & Wellness offer over 12,000 Angelenos every year.

??"These events are the lifeblood of what we do," said APLA and APLA Health & Wellness Chief Executive Officer Craig E. Thompson. "The support that comes from them helps us maintain the high quality of care we've been offering our clients for more than 30 years."

APLA Health & Wellness (APLAHW) provides primary medical and oral health care, behavioral health services, HIV testing, PrEP counseling and management of eligible clients, STD screening/treatment, and health education and HIV-prevention services, with a specific focus on low-income gay and bisexual men of color and transgender individuals living in Los Angeles County.

APLAHW is a federally qualified health center that includes the Gleicher/Chen Health Center in South Los Angeles; the Wilshire Dental Clinic downtown; Behavioral Health Services at the David Geffen Center in Mid-City; as well as a mobile dental facility. The S. Mark Taper Foundation Dental Clinic in South Los Angeles is also part of APLAHW. APLAHW serves more than 8,000 people each year.

The health fair will be held from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Gleicher/Chen Health Center, 3743 S. La Brea Ave. at Coliseum Street, in Los Angeles. For information, visit www.aplahw.com