SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio's Metropolitan Health District is reaching out to a portion of the population that may have been overlooked when talking about being at risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Metro Health is partnering with the Department of Human Services on Tuesday to host an open house for seniors. Among the services they’re offering are sexual health screenings.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many older people are still sexually active, but just like many people in the younger demographic, many seniors are not thinking of STD prevention.
"The truth is that if you're sexually active, you're still at risk of contracting any STD, including HIV, syphilis, herpes, chlamydia," said Carol Schliesinger with the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
Metro Health is now working to serve this age group by bringing their STD mobile clinic to a local senior center for the first time.
"It's an effort to be inclusive to the senior population," Schliesinger saud. "Because if you're sexually active, whether you're 70 or 17, the response should be the same."
CDC data shows that many widowed and divorced seniors who are dating may be less aware of their risks for STDs, believing STDs are not an issue for older people.
Data also shows this age group is less likely to talk about their sexual habits to their doctors and doctors are less likely to ask their senior patients about it.
"Whether it's using Viagra or they lose their partner of their whole life and all of a sudden they're trying to meet new people, we're basically trying to bring the services of education and treatment to them as we would with any other age group," Schliesinger said.
The mobile clinic will be at the South Side Lions Senior Center starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
