Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter on Friday announced that a high-volume and high-throughput COVID-19 testing site will be opening soon in the Southeast region of the state. Delaware County will host the site at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, which will be staffed by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) contractors with additional on the ground support from the host location.
“The Southeast regional location was selected because it is in an area of the state with a high population and a large increase in cases and testing needs,” said Klinepeter. “Delaware County was also selected because of its ease of access in the region and proximity to socially vulnerable populations in the surrounding communities.”
The Delaware County site is expected to be operational early next week. Clinical staff, testing supplies and laboratory support associated with bringing in the Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) team are funded by the federal government. The host entity is responsible for additional costs, which would be eligible for reimbursement from FEMA.
“The site is able to provide testing for approximately 1,000 people per day,” added Klinepeter. “We would like to thank HHS and the host location for partnering with the Department of Health to provide this high-volume site to help meet the testing needs of Pennsylvanians.”
The department is continuing discussions with federal officials about the possibility of opening an additional high-volume testing site in the Southcentral region of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, eight additional free COVID-19 testing sites are currently operating in Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clinton, Delaware, Luzerne and Mifflin counties in conjunction with a partnership between the department and AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI).
In addition to these efforts, to support communities and health systems, the Wolf Administration through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) has reached out to counties, municipalities and health systems to share information about the federal resources that may be available and how to receive reimbursement.
Source: Berkshire mont
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