About 1 in 8 people with HIV in the US do not know they have it, and the Midwest has the highest number of undiagnosed cases.  

You can live with HIV for 8 to 10 years without feeling sick or seeing any changes to your body. Since you might not have any symptoms, testing every 3 months is the only way to know your status and get care before the virus weakens your immune system. 

Yes! If you take your medicine every day, HIV has virtually no impact on how long you will live. Most people can take just one pill a day to keep the virus "suppressed." When the virus is suppressed, it stays at very low levels in your body, which means you cannot pass HIV to other people.  

If you test positive at KC CARE, you can usually take your first supply of medicine home the very same day. 

Some people feel like they have a bad flu with a fever, sore throat, or muscle aches. Others have no symptoms at all. If you do test positive, the medicine is much easier to take than it used to be. 

Since 1996, the number of people dying from HIV has dropped by over half. Today, the most important thing is starting medicine early so the virus doesn't have a chance to make you sick. 

PrEP is very safe and most people have few or no side effects. Some users experience temporary nausea and an upset stomach (pill form) or site soreness from injection (shot form) that usually clears up within weeks.  

In the long term, some forms of PrEP have a low risk of reducing kidney function or bone density. This can be reversed by stopping PrEP or switching to a different form of PrEP. 

Most insurance and Medicaid plans cover all costs for PrEP, without co-pays or cost-sharing. This also includes the cost of medication, medical appointments, and lab tests. 

If you are uninsured or lack prescription coverage, drug manufacturers offer Patient Assistance Programs that can cover the cost of your medication. Your PrEP Navigator can help you enroll in one of these programs.

Yes! PrEP empowers women to be in control of their sexual health. Both pill and injectable options are available for women.  

PrEP is safe to take during pregnancy, and it can help protect you and your baby from HIV. Your healthcare provider will help determine the best PrEP option for you.  

Yes! We offer on-site testing at bars, festivals, community centers, libraries, stores, and many other locations. 

To ensure testing can be done safely and effectively, we’ll also talk with you about logistics, including the amount of space available and temperature control, as certain tests require specific conditions. Our team will work with you to determine what setup will work best for your location. 

To get started, please complete our Outreach Request Form, and a member of our prevention team will follow up with you. 

Outreach Request Form — KC Prevention

Not currently. Xplore Kits are available to individuals who live within a certain radius of our clinic and reside in Missouri or Kansas, this is due to funding requirements.

Please visit this site if you are outside of our delivery area: TakeMeHome

Absolutely! Our prevention team works with you to ensure the presentation is tailored to your audience and appropriate for your group. Our sessions are interactive and designed to help participants feel comfortable, informed, and engaged. 

If you’re interested in scheduling a presentation, please fill out our Outreach Request Form, and a prevention specialist will be in touch. 

Outreach Request Form — KC Prevention 

Yes, you can come in, but timing matters. If you believe you may have been exposed, your best option may be nPEP or doxyPEP, which must be started within 72 hours of your most recent sexual encounter. 

We can complete baseline testing, but results may not reflect that specific encounter due to window periods (the time it takes for an infection to be detectable). For more accurate results, we recommend returning for testing about 3 weeks after the encounter.