Local healthcare provider DAP Health will open the doors to a new sexual health clinic in Cathedral City on December 12.
Where will the new DAP Health Clinic be and when will it open?
The clinic will be headquartered in the pre-existing Stonewall Medical Center, located at 68-555 Ramon Road, and will be DAP Health’s third free sexual health clinic. The Cathedral City clinic will be open from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday, with a one-hour lunch break closed for staff between 11:45am and 12:45pm.
What is the history of DAP’s other two sexual health clinics?
The first clinic, originally known as The Dock, opened in 2015 inside the Barbara Keller LOVE Building on DAP’s Palm Springs campus. It was renamed the Orange Clinic in January, then moved to the newly renovated former county building now known as the Annette Bloch CARE Building. A second sexual health clinic opened in Indio in July 2022. The two clinics currently serve about 1,100 patients per month, according to the organization.
“With the capacity of DAP Health’s free sexual health clinics in Palm Springs and Indio, it was clear there was enough patient demand to support a third location,” CJ Tobey, president of community health at DAP Health, said in a statement. “When we consider the continuing rise in sexually transmitted infections, replicating our Orange Clinic model – where a free sexual health clinic is located in the same location where DAP Health provides ongoing general clinical services – simply makes sense.”
What services does Stonewall Medical Center provide?
Formerly part of Borrego Health System, which was acquired by DAP Health earlier this year, Stonewall Medical Center has provided high-quality, compassionate health care to both the LGBTQ+ community and members of the general population. Its infectious disease specialists focus on patients with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and sexually transmitted diseases. Stonewall also provides transgender healthcare, PrEP and PEP HIV prevention, behavioral health and dental services.
All services will be free of charge and will include:
- HIV/Hepatitis C/STI testing
- Treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
- pregnancy test
- Birth control
- PrEP and PEP for HIV prevention
- Doxy PrEP and PEP for STD prevention
- The first two RapidStart visits are for a patient once they are diagnosed with HIV
- JYNNEOS vaccine to prevent smallpox
“It’s always all about access,” Toby said. “A new free sexual health clinic provides people in and around the Cathedral City area a place closer to home where they can access barrier-free sexual health care and without bureaucracy, shame or stigma.”
How can I contact the new DAP Stonewall Sexual Health Clinic?
Those interested in making an appointment at the new Stonewall Sexual Health Clinic in Cathedral City can call 760-969-5740.
Emma Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ema_sasic.
