ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A newly-released study published this month shows a handful of Florida cities have the highest sexually transmitted disease rates in the nation.
Three of the top 25 cities are located in Florida, which is actually an improvement from last year when the Sunshine State accounted for four of them. Tampa is one of a handful of sunshine state cities in the top 100.
- No. 16: Jacksonville
- No. 17: Miami
- No. 19: Fort Lauderdale
- No. 53: Orlando
- No. 59: Tampa
- No. 83: West Palm Beach
- No. 87: Daytona Beach
Miami and Jacksonville both saw their rankings worsen from No. 23 and No. 24 to No.16 and No. 17 respectively.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis top the list of most commonly reported new STD infections.
"I think a lot of people that come in here don't get the correlation between their behaviors and their risk," Joy Winheim said. Winheim is the executive director at Empath Partners in Care (EPIC), located in St. Pete and Tampa.
If talking about STDs makes you uncomfortable, getting one is far worse.
"Depending on what it is, it can lead to sterility in females, it could lead to kidney damage, liver damage, or I mean, all sorts of other health infections, I could probably talk about it all day," Winheim explained.
April is STD awareness month. While talking with Winheim, she said the stigma surrounding STDs is literally stopping people from getting the healthcare they need.
"It will stop them, and untreated, it can cause so many more problems," she explained. "Untreated, they're still having unprotected sex, and untreated they're still passing it on to other people"
According to Winheim, people need to know their options and understand there are accessible and affordable health centers right here in the Tampa Bay area.
"We consider all of our costs, low cost, we have a sliding fee scale," Winheim said. "So if you are out of work and have no insurance and just can't pay for it, we're not going to turn you away. We will make sure that you get seen."
EPIC Tampa Bay-area locations:
- EPIC St. Pete Campus, 3050 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33712
- EPIC Clearwater, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760
EPIC Tampa Campus, 4703 N. Florida Ave., Tampa, FL 33603 - EPIC Sexual Health Center, 300 49th St. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33707
- EPIC at the Tampa Care Clinic 4600 N. Habana Ave., #15 Tampa, FL 33614 (This location is by appointment only)
Pinellas (727) 328-3260 or Hillsborough (813) 237-3066.
At Empath Partners in Care, staff says the best way to end the stigma surrounding STDs is by talking about it. Winheim explained part of the reason STDs and STIs are so prevalent in Florida is from people going untreated, unknowingly spreading infection and disease to others.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.