April is Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month and the Carroll County Health Department is ready to serve residents via its new reproductive health clinic.
The result of merging its sexually transmitted disease and family planning programs with women's health, the new program will better serve both men and women in all facets of sexual and reproductive health, according to Director of Nursing Cindy Marucci-Bosley.
"[The merger] happened in February and we're still working on some of the transition," she said. "The STD clinic was only held once per week and family planning was held twice a week, so now both men and women will be seen twice per week."
Anyone wishing to get involved in STD Awareness Month may now call 410-876-4930 or 410-876-4932 to make an appointment on one of the two reproductive health clinic days at the health department, which will be Mondays and Thursdays, according to Marucci-Bosley.
One other change is that services will now be billed on a sliding scale, with insurance accepted, rather than offered for free. Maruccui-Bosley said that it is unfortunate, but necessary and that the sliding scale will keep access affordable for those without means.
"STD has always been a non-chargeable program. You could be wealthy and come here for no charge," she said. "Now we will have to be charging for the STD clinics because it is the only way local health departments will survive."
According to statistics from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections in Maryland have been greater than the national average in three of the past four years - Maryland did better than the national rates in 2012. Maryland had 26,534 cases of chlamydia in 2012 for example, a rate of 450.9 per 100,000 persons, compared with the national rate of 456.7 cases per 100,000 persons.
In 2011 however, Maryland had 27,212 cases of chlamydia, a rate of 466.9 compared with the national rate of 453.4.
Maryland was also ranked third highest in rates of HIV infection among U.S. states and territories in reports in 2011, behind only Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands, with 1,783 cases, a rate of 30.6 persons infected out of every 100,000.
While rates of STD infection in Carroll County are lower than the state totals - Carroll County saw 263 cases of chlamydia reported in 2012 for example, an infection rate of 156.3 per 100,000 - there is no guarantee of future safety based on current rates, according to Barbara Conrad, chief of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Center for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, which operates the STD Awareness Month program.
"Sexually transmitted infections still do occur in Carroll County, low rates do not mean zero and people from Carroll County have been known to leave the county," Conrad said.
Additionally, many STDs may be asymptomatic, so that the actual rates of infection are greater than what is reported, according to Elizabeth Liebow, policy and program associate that works with Conrad at the Center for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
"Infections may produce no symptoms and most people that have one won't know they have one and won't get tested or treated," Liebow said. "There are dangerous health consequences if they are not treated, especially for women, such as infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease; plus, they can pass [an STD] during pregnancy or birth to their newborn."
Talking about sex and STDs can be uncomfortable for anyone, but especially so for parents when it comes to speaking with their children, according to Conrad. The STD Awareness Month website will therefore provide resources for parents how may not know how to broach the topic.
"If parents are having difficulty talking with their kids, which I think is very common ... we have a set of age appropriate talking tips for parents based on school age on our parent page on our website," she said. "The main thing is talking to your kids about healthy relationships."
For teens, speaking with their parents can also be uncomfortable, but Marucci-Bosley said that anyone that is sexually active should be tested for STDs. Under Maryland law, minors of any age can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment, according to Marucci-Bosley, with or without parental consent.
"We will see anybody with any sexual behavior and assist them in being healthier and safer," she said. "This allows minors to consent to pregnancy testing, STD testing, STD treatment and reproductive health in the form of birth control ... right, wrong or indifferent, that is the law."
When it comes to STD prevention, Liebow and Conrad both suggested some best practices for safer sex: Abstinence is the only way to guarantee one is not infected by an STD but those that are sexually active should use condoms consistently and not only vaginal, but oral and anal sex count as sex.
"The other message is not to use drugs or alcohol before sex because it reduces your ability to make protective health decisions," Liebow said. "It reduces your ability to use a condom properly."
If nothing else, Marucci-Bosley said she hopes news of STD awareness month will get people thinking about those things they don't always like to think or talk about. That if there is ever a time to finally go get tested or have a talk about sex with children or a partner, April is the time.
"It's about having the conversation. Let's talk about what our risks are as a couple and honestly, what's all tied together about this, let's talk about what our plans are for having children," she said. "If I had to say one sentence, it's have the conversation and be healthy."
