Open Door hosted ‘PrEPare for Better Health’

open door
From left: Dr. Michael Chen-Illamos, family medicine physician; Claudio Villarroel, wellness program manager; Dr. Naida Henriquez, chief dental officer; and Dr. Daren Wu, chief medical officer.

Open Door Family Medical Center hosted “PrEPare for Better Health,” a free public event to increase PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) awareness Oct. 24 at Open Door”™s Wellness Center site at 2 Church St. in Ossining.

The event, which coincided with the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute”™s celebration of PrEP Aware Week (Oct. 20-26), supports the Health Department’s initiative to expand access to PrEP and help end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York by 2020. The state”™s goal is to increase the number of individuals filling prescriptions of PrEP from 24,000 to 65,000 by the end of 2020. 

In addition to teaching attendees about PrEP, the event discussed ways to reduce the likelihood of cancer, STIs, heart disease and dental dis