More COVID-19 testing coming to Tri-Cities. Businesses and farms get extra help

The Tri-Cities area is getting help to make sure that testing for COVID-19 is readily available.

Medical Teams International, a Seattle-based nonprofit that sends medical volunteers to emergencies, is basing teams in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties.

Soon another nonprofit, Health Commons, could further boost testing capacity, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

Medical Teams International, based on Christian principles, did some pop-up testing in the greater Tri-Cities area from July through early August. It’s mobile clinic traveled among Benton and Franklin towns to offer a day of free testing, often in outlying areas.

Now it is helping out with testing at businesses, including farms and food processing companies, that have outbreaks or other reasons to test many employees.

Their work is in addition to the Washington National Guard, which is working with state and local agencies to offer free drive-thru testing in the Tri-Cities.

They are at the HAPO Center, formerly TRAC, in Pasco from 7 am. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, where they can collect samples to test from up to 500 people a day. They will be closed on Labor Day.

Health Commons to train

The Benton Franklin Health District is in talks with Health Commons, a nonprofit that helps coordinate care within the health system to make it easier for people to access.

Seattle Fire, a founding member of Health Commons, has worked with other Seattle-area agencies to test about 5,000 people a day in western Washington.

The Department of Health wants to replicate that success in other areas, starting with Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties.

Local service providers would be trained to operate high-volume testing sites, keeping jobs local while building testing capacity in communities with high levels of COVID-19 cases.

“We hope this approach to testing will be the foundation for a more comprehensive response going forward,” said Dr Charissa Fotina, the state’s leader on COVID-19 testing.

Public health officials say that widely available testing can help identify more people infected with the coronavirus early to help prevent the spread of the virus.

They can self isolate at home and their close contacts can be notified of potential exposures and asked to quarantine at home until it is clear that they are not infected.

Testing also is available at clinics in the Tri-Cities area. The local health district has details posted at bit.ly/TCtestingsites.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.