NORFOLK, Va. — At testing spots around Hampton Roads today, Sentara Healthcare partnered with local organizations and health departments to offer free, drive-thru community coronavirus testing to people who otherwise might not have access to it.
In a morning press release, a spokesperson for the hospital system said the staff wanted to specifically serve African-American and Hispanic communities, LGBTQ people and the area's homeless.
Iris Lundy, Sentara's director of health equity, said without directed action, these people could slip through cracks in the healthcare system.
“Transportation issues and the language barrier are among the reasons minority communities aren’t being adequately tested,” Lundy said. “We are building trust and getting the word out through these organizations that it is safe to come out and be tested.”
Sentara Healthcare has been working with local health departments, the Urban League of Hampton Roads, NAACP chapters, community organizations and faith groups to meet needs and serve minorities at their testing sites.
The system's press release said employees wanted to respond to reports that minorities were being affected by COVID-19 at a higher-than-proportional rate in Virginia and North Carolina.
They have a limited number of tests, but want to use those for people who might not have other avenues to get screened for the virus.
Between 9 a.m. and noon on Tuesday, Sentara was at First Baptist Church of Norfolk testing people. A reporter at the scene said 50 people were tested.
The tests will have to be processed before Sentara knows how many of those people tested positive.
Sentara did say they've held screening events in 12 cities, including Hampton, since April - conducting tests on at least 1,400 people and revealing 160 positive cases.
The healthcare system said it was planning similar testing initiatives in Virginia Beach soon.