Beacon hosts first COVID-19 mobile clinic in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Michiana just got its first mobile COVID-19 testing clinic. It was open Wednesday 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot outside of Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in South Bend.

It’s set up like a drive-thru where anyone in the community just has to drive up, health workers will come up with questions and testing and you don’t even have to get out of the car.

“When we identify you meet the criteria for testing, we will actually take the test while you’re in your car, you don’t even have to leave your vehicle. Then after that, you’ll leave. We will contact you by your preferred route within a week with the test results,” Dr. Vince Henderson, the President of Beacon Medical Group said.

There was a line of cars around the block outside the church Wednesday with residents waiting to see if they meet the requirements to get tested and of course to see if they are coronavirus positive.

Now you do have to qualify for the testing meaning health workers there will ask whether or not you have symptoms like cough, fever or sore throat, whether you have any underlying health conditions and whether or not you have been in any infected areas which does not necessarily have to be abroad since New York, Detroit and Chicago all classify as infected areas.

Dr. Henderson said the mobile unit was put in place to help underserved communities with accessible testing.

“Trying to reach out into the community where we see a disproportionate amount of disease and what we’re trying to see is if there are ways we can tap into the community, community resources in a different way,” he said.

It all comes down to accessibility and putting these mobile testing clinics in the community allows more people to be able to get tested, even with financial or transportation limitations.

“We need to do everything we can to reach out to communities where we find that type of disparate health condition,” Henderson said.

Henderson said they are trying to get another unit in the Nappanee area.

If you did miss this one, there will be another mobile COVID-19 testing clinic at the Goodwill on 1805 W. Western Ave. in South Bend on Friday, from 12 .m. to 3 p.m.