The Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS has launched a treatment program to test and treat HIV, the first of its kind.

The “Test and Treat” program places those who test positive for HIV into treatment early in their diagnosis, providing them access to medication and behavioral healthcare before leaving the clinic.

Gaia Farnam is the director of prevention services at the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS. She said the center launched the program late last year.

“What we now know is that for people that receive this Test and Treat care," Farnam said,  "they reach viral suppression in often a few weeks after their initial diagnosis, which usually it takes several months.”

The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation recently donated $750,000 to the Southwest Center to help advance the program.