Nurse Practitioner Rosemary Donnelly has been on the front lines of the fight to end HIV in Atlanta for more than 30 years. “I came to Atlanta in the early 90s as a young nurse and practiced home healthcare, where I saw many patients diagnosed with HIV who, unfortunately, were dying of AIDS,” Rosemary recalls. “There was widespread stigma and discrimination, including among the other nurses I worked with, some of whom refused to visit the homes of patients with HIV or AIDS. That felt really wrong to me. I was one of three or four nurses who saw most of the patients who were dying of AIDS at the time.” 

By the mid-90s, the “drug cocktail” known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) was introduced to treat HIV. “People diagnosed with HIV started living,” says Rosemary, who transitioned from bedside nursing to public health, where she began focusing on HIV prevention.

Fast-forward to 2026, when she joined the care team at AvitaCare Atlanta, an award-winning medical center, pharmacy, and laboratory that, in partnership with MedCura Health, provides compassionate, comprehensive, and inclusive primary and specialty care to the greater Atlanta community. “AvitaCare Atlanta is an outstanding clinic where I can apply my years of experience in HIV prevention and treatment alongside like-minded providers,” Rosemary says. “It’s an exciting time.” 

Her role as a compassionate care provider and advocate for patients navigating HIV and their sexual health has never been more critical in the Atlanta area, which has the third-highest rate of new HIV diagnoses among U.S. metro areas, at 2.5 times the nationwide average.

At the heart of the issue is the ongoing stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV prevention and treatment, Rosemary explains. “I want to be an advocate for patients, challenge misconceptions, and confront that discrimination,” she says. Read on for the top six things she wants Atlantans to know about their HIV prevention and treatment options and learn how compassionate sexual health care is just around the corner.

 #1: Yes, HIV is still “a thing” in the Metro-Atlanta area

“A lot of people don’t think HIV is a problem anymore,” Rosemary reports. “Or they don’t think they’re at risk.” They couldn’t be more wrong, she says. Nearly 1.2 million people were living with diagnosed HIV in the U.S. at the end of 2024, and nearly 39,000 people ages 13 and older were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2024. Metro-Atlanta trails only Miami and Memphis in new HIV diagnosis rates among major metro areas nationwide, and the state of Georgia ranks second behind the District of Columbia in the estimated rate of new HIV infections per 100,000 people. 

If you think only gay men are at risk of a positive HIV diagnosis, think again, Rosemary warns. “HIV doesn’t discriminate by age, sexual orientation, gender or sexual identity,” she says. “Anyone who’s sexually active is potentially at risk.” 

#2: HIV is highly treatable, and people can live full, healthy lives with the right care 

“People with HIV are living instead of dying,” Rosemary says. “That’s a huge game changer. When I first started as a nurse serving people with HIV, there were single-drug regimens that were not very effective and had many side effects. In the mid-90s, the drug cocktail came out, which might involve handfuls of pills taken multiple times a day, but offered a reprieve from the prior death sentence that went along with AIDS.” 

Next, scientists developed single-tablet regimens that most patients tolerate well and that quickly reduce viral load. Now, Rosemary notes, injectable treatments are available. The bottom line? “With the innovations in these HIV treatment options, people who are HIV positive are living a full life,” Rosemary says. “It’s one of the first things I tell newly diagnosed patients. HIV is a chronic, manageable disease.” 

#3: HIV is preventable, and more HIV prevention options are available than ever

If you’ve tested negative for HIV, there are a variety of options to help prevent a future positive diagnosis, Rosemary says. One of them is pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medication you can take to prevent acquiring HIV.

Studies show that PrEP is highly effective. When taken correctly, it can reduce your risk of contracting HIV by 99%. Four PrEP medications are currently FDA-approved, including two daily PrEP oral medications and two injectable PrEP options (AvitaCare Atlanta’s pharmacy is an authorized distributor of lenacapavir, the newest long-acting injectable form of PrEP). 

“Anyone who is sexually active should consider taking PrEP,” Rosemary says. “It allows you to take charge of your sexual health. Anyone who’s had a sexually transmitted infection, especially within the past six months to a year, should consider PrEP, which is FDA-approved for adolescents and adults.” AvitaCare Atlanta serves patients aged 18 and older.  

At AvitaCare Atlanta, preparations for starting PrEP include an HIV test and a panel of sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests, including syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. “We want to holistically treat a patient’s sexual health,” Rosemary says. “If someone is at risk for HIV, they’re more likely to be at risk for other STIs as well.” 

#4: Think you might have been exposed to HIV? Act quickly; healthcare providers can help

If you realize soon after an encounter that you might have been exposed to HIV, the compassionate care team at AvitaCare Atlanta can help, Rosemary says. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is a course of medications that patients can take after a potential exposure to help prevent HIV. 

“This treatment needs to start as soon as possible, but it must begin within 72 hours of a potential HIV exposure,” she says. “It typically involves taking three antiretroviral medications for 28 days. After completing your course of PEP, you can transition to PrEP if there’s an ongoing risk of HIV.” 

#5: Open your mind to the concept of treatment as prevention

Ever heard of U=U? If not, here’s some solid info to pass along. U=U stands for Undetectable = Untransmittable. It’s an educational movement, originally created by the Prevention Access Campaign, that promotes the scientifically proven concept that if a person living with HIV is on antiretroviral therapy and has achieved viral suppression for at least six months, they have zero risk of sexually transmitting the virus, Rosemary explains.   This means that if you are living with HIV, today’s treatment options can reduce your viral load to the point that you cannot transmit HIV to your sexual partners. They also reduce the risk of HIV transmission during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding to less than 1%. “An undetectable viral load allows people living with HIV to live without fear of transmitting the virus during sex,” Rosemary says. 

#6 Compassionate HIV testing, prevention, and treatment in Atlanta is only a click away!

Whether you’re looking to learn your HIV status through testing, ready to explore your HIV prevention options, or living with HIV and seeking a new medical “home,” AvitaCare Atlanta can help you unlock the full potential of health, Rosemary says. 

“At AvitaCare Atlanta, we’re a full-service medical facility,” Rosemary says. “We take a holistic approach to each patient’s health and offer primary and specialty care, including HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. We also have an onsite laboratory and pharmacy, making it easy to get test results and have prescriptions filled. Other ancillary services include behavioral health, social services, and a dietitian. We’re here to compassionately meet the healthcare needs of the Atlanta community.” 

ABOUT ROSEMARY DONNELLY, MSN, ANP-BC, AAHIVS 
Rosemary Donnelly is an adult nurse practitioner and HIV specialist with extensive experience caring for people living with HIV and supporting their sexual health needs. Her background includes 15 years in public health focused on HIV and STI prevention and treatment, more than four years providing telehealth care, and five years managing three outpatient HIV clinics. 

As a provider at AvitaCare Atlanta, Rosemary is committed to reducing sexual health stigma and removing barriers to care. She delivers nonjudgmental, person-centered care grounded in shared decision-making. Her additional professional interests include healthcare quality improvement and clinical training. 

Rosemary earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Emory University. She is certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine as an HIV specialist and by the HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board (HANCB) as an HIV/AIDS-certified registered nurse.