STAR Program - Brooklyn

STAR Program - Brooklyn 🌟 Join our welcoming, diverse community committed to health equity. Discover our dedicated LGBTQIA+ Health Initiative for inclusive care.

Explore our range of primary care and specialty services, from HIV and HCV screening to behavioral health support. The Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (www.starprogram.nyc), a multidisciplinary HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) care, clinical education and research program, provides comprehensive primary care through its STAR Health Center (SHC). The SHC operates in the ambulatory care department of SUNY Downstate’s University Hospital of Brooklyn and at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center (“STAR-Brookdale”). The SHC is designated as a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and an Opioid Overdose Prevention Program. The STAR Health Center offers comprehensive and confidential treatment services for adults (age 18+), including rapid HIV testing, primary care, women’s health care, specialized care for LGBT populations (including LGBT primary care, high resolution anoscopy, and transgender care), PrEP/PEP, HCV screening and treatment, sub-specialty services, adherence education, nutritional services, prenatal care, case management, specialized family case management, care coordination, home-based directly observed therapy, re-entry services for those released from incarceration, and a full scope of behavioral health services, including psychiatric evaluation and treatment, supportive counseling (outpatient and home based), support groups, buprenorphine treatment, substance use counseling, harm reduction, and referrals for ongoing counseling.

Your health deserves attention — this season and all year long. 💜PrEP is a powerful tool that helps protect you from HIV...
12/19/2025

Your health deserves attention — this season and all year long. 💜

PrEP is a powerful tool that helps protect you from HIV, and regular testing helps you stay informed and in control of your s*xual health. Together, they support confidence, clarity, and peace of mind.

Whether you’re traveling, reconnecting, or simply focusing on yourself, prevention is part of self-care.

💊 Daily PrEP and 💉 long-acting injectable PrEP options are available.
🧪 HIV and STI testing are simple, confidential, and accessible.

✨ No insurance? No worries — we can help.

📍 STAR Health Center – SUNY Downstate
470 Clarkson Ave, Suite J, Brooklyn, NY 11203
📞 Call/Text (347) 909-1680
🌐 GetMeOnPrEP.com

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of health. ❤️Between gatherings, celebrations, travel, and reconnecting with...
12/18/2025

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of health. ❤️

Between gatherings, celebrations, travel, and reconnecting with loved ones, it’s the perfect time to check in on your well-being.

✨ PrEP helps protect you from HIV.
🧪 Regular testing helps you stay informed and in control.
Together, they’re powerful tools for a healthy, confident holiday season.

Whether you’re dating, reconnecting, or simply living your best life — prevention is part of self-care. 💜

🎁 Make s*xual health part of your holiday routine.

✅ No insurance? No worries — we can help!
📍 STAR Health Center – SUNY Downstate
470 Clarkson Ave, Suite J, Brooklyn, NY 11203
📞 Call/Text (347) 909-1680
🌐 GetMeOnPrEP.com

12/02/2025

Dr. Conrad Fischer, infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine, has spent more than 30 years caring for people living with HIV — especially in East New York and Crown Heights through the STAR Program.

For World AIDS Day, he reminds us of a universal truth:
There is no “other.” In HIV, we are one humanity.

Dr. Fischer reflects on:
• Our responsibility to care for one another
• The extraordinary progress of modern HIV treatment
• Global inequalities in HIV care
• The need for relentless effort to end HIV transmission
• His hope that one day his job will no longer be necessary

With one pill a day and no side effects, people living with HIV can have the same lifespan as an HIV-negative person — a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we must still go.

Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Dr. Kaniz Banu, MD — Infectious Disease Specialist at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and STAR Clinic provider — shares a powerful message for World AIDS Day.

She reminds us why this day matters for providers, nurses, social workers, and most of all, patients. World AIDS Day is a time to:
• Raise awareness
• Educate our patients and community
• Promote HIV prevention and treatment
• Fight stigma, one of the biggest barriers in care
• Celebrate progress and reaffirm our commitment to ending HIV

Dr. Banu believes that together, through education, compassion, and community care, we can control HIV — and one day eliminate it from our population.

Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

This World AIDS Day, we honor the life and legacy of Michael Anderson, diagnosed in 1991 — a time when HIV was considered a death sentence.

Michael lived more than 30 years with HIV. He survived stigma, fear, and impossible odds. His message was simple and powerful:
“A million didn’t make it… and thank God I’m one in a million that did.”

His words continue to guide us:
• Take your medication
• Know your viral load
• Practice safer s*x (“No gloves, no love”)
• Believe that you can live a full, productive life

Michael’s strength, honesty, and hope continue to inspire the STAR community and everyone touched by HIV.
🕊️ In loving memory. Your voice lives on.
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Thomas Powell was diagnosed with HIV in 2006 — and instead of giving up, he stepped into community, leadership, and hope.

Through treatment, adherence, and joining the men’s group at the STAR Program, Thomas became Vice Chair of the Consumer Advisory Board and helped shape services for others.

He lost 37 friends along the way. Only five survive today. But Thomas is here to remind us:
Life is not over. Survival matters. The fight continues — and we can win.

For World AIDS Day, we honor survivors like Thomas who turn their pain into purpose.
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Fiona Thomas, LMSW, social worker at the STAR Program, shares why World AIDS Day is a time for awareness, education, and compassion.

She reminds us that:
• Ending stigma begins with supporting and educating our community
• Testing regularly is essential to knowing your HIV status
• Early treatment keeps you healthy and helps protect others
• Everyone deserves dignity, care, and understanding

This World AIDS Day, Fiona encourages us to take action — get tested and know your status.
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Joseph Smith was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 with only four T-cells. He was devastated, scared, and unsure of the future — but he chose to fight, recover, and live.

Now 74 years old, Joseph shares his story to remind young and old that you can live with HIV. His journey through stigma, recovery, and the STAR Clinic community shows the power of compassion, treatment, and hope.

For World AIDS Day, we honor survivors like Joseph who paved the way for future generations.
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Rhue Rosa, Licensed Medical Social Worker at the STAR Health Center at Brookdale, shares a powerful original poem titled “I Nominate Hope” in honor of World AIDS Day.

Dedicated to everyone living with HIV/AIDS — and to their families and loved ones — Rhue delivers a message filled with resilience, identity, and the courage to believe in brighter days.

His poem reminds us that:
• Living with HIV is not a death sentence
• Hope dismantles fear and defeats stigma
• Breakthroughs continue to change lives
• Each person has purpose, dignity, and greatness
• Together, we can end the epidemic and uplift one another

“I nominate Hope for president.”
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Mary Crymes, who retired from her position as Charge Nurse at STAR-Downstate i shares the powerful story behind the Survivor’s Quilt, a project born from love, resilience, and the desire to give young people hope.

For decades, the Names Project honored those lost to HIV/AIDS. Mary saw something missing: a way to honor those who survived the fight. Her idea created a symbol of strength for the next generation, reminding young people that they are not alone, that they have a future, and that there is always hope.

🎗️ STAR Program Survivors' Quilt
💛 Honoring life, legacy, and community
🌐 Learn more: www.starprogram.nyc

12/01/2025

Dr. Jack A. DeHovitz, STAR Program Director, reflects on the earliest days of the HIV epidemic at St. Vincent’s Hospital and the life-saving progress in treatment since 1981.

Dr. Jessica Yager, Medical Director of the STAR Program, shares why World AIDS Day is a time to honor progress, celebrate thriving lives, and recommit to prevention, testing, and care.

A powerful message from two leaders who have dedicated their lives to ending HIV in Brooklyn and beyond.
Learn more at www.starprogram.nyc

11/29/2025

Love isn’t passive — it’s something you do.
Choosing PrEP is choosing protection, confidence, and pleasure on your terms.
For yourself. For your partners. For your community. ❤️

💊 Daily PrEP or 💉 Injectable PrEP (2-month & 6-month options) — you’ve got choices.
Let love lead the way. Let PrEP protect the journey.

✨ No insurance? No worries — we can help!
📍 STAR Health Center – SUNY Downstate
470 Clarkson Ave, Suite J, Brooklyn, NY 11203
📞 Call/Text (347) 909-1680
🌐 GetMeOnPrEP.com

Address

450 Clarkson Avenue, Suite J
Brooklyn, NY
11203

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.GetMeOnPrep.com/, http://www.fasterthan.org/, https://www.stopmentalhealthstigma.com

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