Governor Laura Kelly today announced The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) deployed a Mobile Testing Unit to assist communities with COVID-19 testing for underserved populations.
“In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen Kansas, our public health experts must be able to track the scale and scope of this virus,” Governor Kelly said. “Working with local communities and public health officials, this mobile unit helps us reach the vulnerable populations that are experiencing barriers to testing access.”
KDHE is working with local health departments and other health organizations to identify locations throughout Kansas which would benefit from this service. The Mobile Testing Unit is a van outfitted with COVID-19 laboratory-sampling equipment that can travel to locations and areas as requested. Currently, the Mobile Testing Unit is tentatively scheduled through mid-July. It will make its first appearance in conjunction with an Advent Health/Mercy and Truth Medical Missions event in Wyandotte County on June 27. For information regarding that event or future events, please reach out to the organizing entity.
“We recognize there are disparities with COVID-19 testing,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary. “Part of our testing strategy in Kansas is to alleviate the barriers to getting tested.”
The lab testing is provided at no cost to any individual seeking testing. There is also no cost to the community. The test being performed is a diagnostic test, meaning it will say if the individual currently has COVID-19. The Mobile Testing Unit will collect the samples while at each site and then send them to the Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories for processing. Results will be available to individuals in approximately 1-2 days through the partnering local health department or health organization.
If you are interested in having the Mobile Testing Unit in your community, KDHE encourages people to coordinate with their local health departments or also reach out to our COVID-19@ks.gov.
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