FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2025
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic Releases Report on Community Understanding of Syphilis and STI Trends on the Kenai Peninsula
HOMER, Alaska — Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic (KBFPC) releases comprehensive new report titled Syphilis & Sexually Transmitted Infections: Baseline Data Compilation and Community Knowledge Assessment, highlighting community insights surrounding the rise in syphilis, congenital syphilis, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Alaska and underscoring the continued need for access to education and healthcare in light of recent public health trends.
This assessment, conducted throughout 2024 and early 2025 with support from a Congenital Syphilis Prevention Grant awarded by the Alaska Department of Health, draws on community surveys, stakeholder interviews, and state and regional health data. The report underscores the value of community partnerships and on-site rapid testing services for vulnerable populations as ways to address the state’s current syphilis crisis. The data gives context to the crisis by highlighting the knowledge gaps in early signs for syphilis, lack of standardized testing protocols for syphilis and other STIs, and the barriers to care vulnerable populations face.
“This report confirms that the public wants to actively participate in their reproductive health. Yet, stigma and misinformation continue to impact STI prevention and care,” said Claudia Haines, CEO of KBFPC. “We hope this data reminds local providers, educators, and community leaders that syphilis and congenital syphilis are still an issue in Alaska and empowers them join KBFPC in taking coordinated action.”
Despite the early and unexpected end of the state grant program, KBFPC remains committed to STI prevention efforts. As one of only three dedicated reproductive health clinics in the state in 2025, KBFPC connects people on the Kenai Peninsula to STI information, testing, and treatment services and other reproductive healthcare; regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. The findings from this assessment will guide ongoing work at KBFPC’s flagship Homer clinic and Pop-Up locations; and expand community education efforts across the Kenai Peninsula.
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Read the full report here:
2025.06 Syphilis STI Knowledge Assessment
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Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula