ABSTRACT
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mission of providing essential medical care to underserved populations is now even more vital. CrescentCare, an FQHC in New Orleans, evaluated and tested 3366 patients between March 16 and July 2, with an overall rate of 12% SARS-CoV-2 positivity. The clinic's experience demonstrates how to effectively and rapidly integrate COVID-19 programing, while preserving essential health services. Strategies include developing a walk-in COVID-19 testing site, ensuring appropriate clinical evaluation, providing accurate public health information, and advocating for job safety on behalf of our patients.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Testing , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Community Health Centers/organization & administration , Medically Underserved Area , Health Services Accessibility , Humans , New Orleans/epidemiology , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Federally qualified health centers are on the frontlines of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. It is essential to develop the workflows necessary to evaluate patients, perform appropriate diagnostics, make clinical recommendations, and provide public health messaging. This brief report presents findings from our COVID-19 response and compares the characteristics between the 345 patients screened between March 16 and April 10, 2020. One hundred seventeen patients tested positive for COVID-19, an overall rate of 33.9%; and Black race, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, and the use of antipyretic agents were associated with positive results.