Loretto Hospital provide free COVID-19 testing which will help underserved West Side communities
Loretto Hospital is offering free and easy testing for COVID-19, but this offer is turning out to be a danger in itself as people arrive at the center hours before the testing begins for COVID-19 at 9 a.m. on the weekend.
Dr. Nikhila Juvvadi, a chief clinical officer at Loretto, said, "So the process, once you get to in the front of the line, is probably less than three minutes, but it is the waiting process. But we try to do the best we can with how many people we have and the resources."
Lorette is located in the Austin neighborhood and is providing drive-thru and walk-up testing since April. The virus is proving to be more harmful to communities of color.
"Austin is an underserved community in terms of health care in general," said Erin Borders, director of outpatient services. "Most of our patients who come to Loretto and in the community have comorbidity."
Around 300 specimens are collected in Loretto daily and are then sent to state labs for processing. According to hospital officials, it takes 5 days to get reports, and delivery of the results is a challenge in such a time.
The medical workers at testing centers know the risk of their jobs, but without thinking about consequences, keep working to provide help to people.
Hospital officials are varied as they are unable to provide antibody testing; they are only testing for a person who has COVID-19 or not.
