As a line of people snaked out the door of the Penn Branch DMV in Southeast D.C. yesterday morning, Stephanie, a slight woman with a gentle voice, took advantage of her captive audience to make what would otherwise be a strange pitch in a government office—get a free HIV test, she offered, and you can receive a $7 credit towards your DMV services. Not everyone took her up on the offer, but others were handed a red number card and told to wait for one of two testers to call them into a private room.

The testing, which has gone on at the Penn Branch DMV since October 2010, is a first-of-its-kind attempt in the nation to bring HIV testing directly to D.C. residents. Since it started, some 8,000 people have taken the test—double what was originally expected. Last month alone, 600 people accepted Stephanie’s pitch. As D.C. battles an HIV/AIDS epidemic that rivals some African countries, testing is only one front—but it’s also one without which more substantial gains cannot be made.

“That’s one of the biggest things now—we’re making lots of progress when we get you into care,” said Angela Wood, Chief Operations Officer at Family and Medical Counseling Service, the private group that was contracted by D.C. to run the program. “But there are still just too many people that do not know their HIV status. We need you to know so we can get you into care and that you can reap the benefits of all the life-sustaining medications.”

The test is quick and painless—an oral swab (pictured here) yields results within 20 minutes. If a resident comes up positive—of those 8,000 tested, less than one percent have—they are offered the chance to go directly to FMCS offices for counseling, medical services and a full diagnostic exam.

Testing across the board has increased over the years, according to a recently released report from the D.C. Department of Health on the city’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2011, 122,000 publicly supported HIV tests were conducted, up from 110,000 a year prior and a huge jump from the 43,000 in 2007. With a better grasp on the extent of the epidemic, say city officials, the better D.C.’s response can be.

“The DMV testing program, along with the Red Carpet Entry program that instantly connects newly diagnosed individuals with care, are prime examples of the District’s innovative and effective response to the epidemic,” said Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large), chair of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Health. “The test is fast, easy, and reliable. Expanding the availability of the test is critical. We need to work to ensure everyone knows their status and those that do test positive are connected to care quickly.”

Additionally, part of the value of testing so aggressively and testing in government offices—FMCS also runs tests at a nearby social services intake center, where it has tested 3,500 people since last November—is that it diminishes the stigma attached to discussing and effectively addressing HIV/AIDS, said Wood.

“When people first think about it, they say, ‘I don’t know if I would really do that.’ But when people get here, they tell us that it was time that they were sitting and that they heard the message and then they’ll say, “Oh, I’m going to do it.” I think once one person says they’ll do it, others say they’ll do it too,” said Wood.

Catania agrees. “By making the test available to people as they go about their normal, everyday business, we’ll undo any remaining taboo around testing and reduce the number of people unaware of their status. Both of which are tremendously important to combating the spread of HIV.”

According to the Department of Health—and Wood, a 20-year-veteran in the fight against HIV/AIDS, concurs—D.C. seems to be turning a corner. The number of new HIV cases is down, infected residents are connected to medical care more quickly and consistently, and HIV-related deaths have decreased. In many ways, better testing is an important component of those advances.

Still, D.C. officials estimate that between 20 and 40 percent of people infected with HIV in the city are unaware of their status—putting D.C. above the national average. Wood says that FMCS is arranging funding to keep the testing at the Penn Branch DMV, and would also like to see it expand to other government offices.

“If we know our status, we can do better,” said Wood.

Today is National HIV Testing Day, and tests are available at the following locations. Walgreens has also announced that it will start offering free HIV tests.