Church of the Highlands opens Covid-19 Testing Center
The Church of the Highlands in Alabama says it will begin offering drive-through coronavirus testing at its Grandview campus starting Tuesday, even for people who can’t afford to pay for it.
In partnership with Assurance Scientific and the Christ Health Center, Alabama residents who have either been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms such as a cough or fever can receive testing at the Church of the Highlands campus on Grandview Parkway.
In a statement on its a website, the Maga Church said the test site will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be operated in consultation with the Jefferson County Department of Health.
Testing will be limited to 500 people per day to best allocate resources. (This is to us a big sacrifice and others should emulate this)
“Testing resources are scarce nationally and are limited to those experiencing symptoms of cough or fever or persons who have had direct in-person exposure to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19,” a Church of the Highlands Facebook post reads. “Please help protect these resources by not presenting if you are not certain you need to be tested.”
Test results will be made available within 72 hours.
Those who come for testing will be asked pre-screening questions to see if they qualify for the test.
“In the interest of public health, all persons must remain in their vehicles with their windows rolled-up,” a joint press release from the Christ Health Center and Church of the Highlands explains. “As you are presenting for possible contagious disease, no restroom facilities will be available.”
The release explains that anyone coming for COVID-19 testing is declaring that they “should self-quarantine until such time you receive a negative COVID-19 test result.”
Those who are tested at the site will be billed through their insurance provider, whether that be a major insurance carrier or Medicare or Medicaid.
Church of the Highlands, Assurance Scientific and Christ Health Center have also created a fund to cover the cost of anyone who does not have insurance so that “no one will be turned away for inability to pay.”
The statement on the church’s website advises older adults and those with chronic medical conditions to avoid crowds.