All in the Family
How spouses Andy and Johnny Glorioso found themselves both working in sexual wellness at DAP Health — and loving it.
As seen in Issue 4 of DAP Health magazine
Words by Trey Burnette • Photos by David A. Lee
Andy Glorioso, who’s been HIV+ since 1986, has worked in HIV/AIDS social services for 23 years. In 2018, he finished his last day of work at San Diego’s largest clinic, jumped in his packed car, and drove out to Palm Springs. The next morning, he was at his new job at DAP Health, where he currently serves as PrEP navigation manager.
A Shared Mission: Andy and Johnny's Path to DAP Health
While Andy was settling into Palm Springs, Johnny was relocating from San Francisco — where he’d worked for more than two decades as an E.R./trauma nurse — to similarly create his new desert home. He first discovered the Orange Clinic (as DAP Health’s Palm Springs sexual wellness clinic is known) as a patient. He has been on PrEP for five years, and still uses the clinic for quarterly checkups. From the beginning, he loved the availability of free services and the openness of providers.
Empowering Patients: The Role of PrEP in HIV Prevention
Both men understand stigma and anxiety are intricately linked to sexual behavior and health, and that normalizing frank talk about sex and sexual wellness is the first step in caring for their respective patients. Their mission is to empower through education.
After a patient tests negative for HIV, Andy can get them started on PrEP, the pre-exposure prophylaxis that uses antiviral medications to help prevent the spread of the virus. There are a variety of drugs available — some are daily pills; another is a bimonthly injection. Using a judgment-free attitude, Andy helps patients decide which path is best for theirs needs.
Using the same “come as you are” mindset, Johnny does patients’ PrEP follow-up, testing them for HIV and sexual transmitted infections (STIs). He soothes those who test positive for either, explaining treatment of the former and quick and easy cures for the latter.
Breaking Stigma: Normalizing Conversations About Sexual Health
“Once they leave the clinic, we don’t know what happens,” says Andy of the patients under the men’s care. “But every once in a while, I get an email that says, ‘Thank you. My experience and the information I received was life-changing.’ Then I know what we did — what we are doing —is working.”
Though both had a connection to DAP Health, the two first met on a dating app mere weeks after each moved to Palm Springs. Their first chat was a long one. The next night, they saw a movie. Within a few months, they’d moved in together. Marriage happened six months after that, with Andy taking Johnny’s last name.
Love and Work: How Andy and Johnny Balance Life at DAP Health
By 2022, Johnny was working as a sexual health nurse at The Dock, as the Orange Clinic was known when it debuted within the Barbara Keller LOVE Building in 2015. The space opened its rebranded doors in the newly renovated, former county structure christened the Annette Bloch CARE Building across the way in January 2023. The sexual wellness clinic in Indio was unveiled in July 2022. The two present clinics currently serve about 1,075 patients per month. In late 2023, a third DAP Health sexual wellness clinic will open at the Stonewall Medical Center in Cathedral City.
Community Impact: Beyond the Clinic Walls
It’s not just within the walls of DAP Health that the Gloriosos are making a difference. Part of the sexual wellness outreach team, they both participate at local events such as Pride, Leather Pride, International Bear Convergence, and White Party Palm Springs. The Orange Clinic has also partnered with several live-in rehabs in the valley, offering education and free testing.
Advocating for Change: The Gloriosos' Commitment to Sexual Wellness
And it’s not just at work that Andy and Johnny are peppered with questions about sexual wellness. They’re social, and people know what they do for a living, so friends and acquaintances aren’t shy about seeking professional advice, either face to face or via Facebook Messenger. The men are more than happy to bring interested parties into the DAP Health family.
The couple loves living in Palm Springs and working at DAP Health. They were drawn to the city and the organization for their respective progressive attitudes and values. DAP Health, like the men, cares about community. They agree the nonprofit is different from any other place they’ve worked — or visited as patients. “We treat and educate people, at no cost to them, all without an ounce of shame,” says Johnny, adding that birth control, pregnancy testing, and other support services are also available. “It’s work that each of us takes to heart.”
Then there’s the fact that they’re always near each other from nine to five. “The real joy for me is seeing my husband throughout the course of the day,” says Andy. “We generally have a good time together, so we also have fun together at work.”
“Except when the natural way we relate to each other in private spills over,” adds Johnny with a wink and a smile. “To give you an example, when I was gone for a few hours recently, Andy apparently decided to clean out all of my work drawers the way he thought they should be. And when I came back, I couldn’t find anything — just like at home!”