By Emily Williams
Officials with the University of Alabama at Birmingham announced on April 27 that the hospital will begin COVID-19 mobile testing operations this week.
During a press conference, UAB Vice President of Clinical Operations Jordan DeMoss announced that the new venture is an effort to expand access to testing beyond UAB’s Downtown COVID-19 Testing Site.
DeMoss noted that officials have spent the past month working to expand the capacity of the testing site and perfect drive-thru operations. To date, UAB has tested more than 5,000 people.
“We know that not all patients and citizens in Birmingham and Jefferson County want to or can come to a downtown, drive-thru testing site,” he said. “So, we want to be able to go to them and meet them in their communities where they are.”
UAB officials considered testing data in order to choose the first testing sites, DeMoss said, identifying locations where they have seen the highest instances of COVID-19 positive results.
Mobile testing will begin this week in two locations, at Central Park Christian School in the Bush Hills community and Cathedral of the Cross in Center Point.
“This will be a new opportunity for us, and something we want to learn from,” DeMoss said. “Our drive-thru site is unique in that our patients come to us and we have a lot of efficiency built in there. Going out into the community will be a little bit different.”
Demoss added that there are plans to expand the program into even more communities once they are able to iron out all of the details via the first few locations.
For more information, visit uab.edu.
