The NYC Test & Trace Corps, a COVID-19 testing initiative led by NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Department of Health, partnered with clinical telehealth provider Essen Health Care to deploy mobile testing units Nov. 2 to underserved neighborhoods.
The corps and Essen Health Care will provide COVID-19 testing at no cost for residents in the Soundview and Cast Hill areas of New York City as well as neighborhoods where testing is less readily available.
Essen Health Care mobile units have been deployed to more than 160 locations in the Bronx since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Essen Health Care comprises five integrated clinical divisions offering primary care, urgent care and specialty services as well as nursing home staffing and care management. All clinical services are offered via telehealth.
"Every New Yorker should get tested for COVID-19, and that begins with providing easy access to free testing in communities where the need is greatest," NYC Test & Trace Corps Executive Director Ted Long, MD, said in the news release. "We are pleased to partner with Essen Health Care to expand testing options in underserved areas of the Bronx, and the Test & Trace Corps will provide the full range of our free support services to anyone who tests positive."