Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mission of providing essential medical care to underserved populations is now even more vital. CrescentCare, an FQHC in New Orleans, evaluated and tested 3366 patients between March 16 and July 2, with an overall rate of 12% SARS-CoV-2 positivity. The clinic's experience demonstrates how to effectively and rapidly integrate COVID-19 programing, while preserving essential health services. Strategies include developing a walk-in COVID-19 testing site, ensuring appropriate clinical evaluation, providing accurate public health information, and advocating for job safety on behalf of our patients.
Federally Qualified Health Centers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It is essential to develop the workflows necessary to evaluate patients, perform appropriate diagnostics, make clinical recommendations and provide public health messaging. This brief report presents findings from our COVID-19 response and compares the characteristics between the 345 patients screened between March 16
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- April 10
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. One hundred and seventeen patients tested positive for COVID-19, an overall rate of 33.9% and African-American race, increased heart rate, elevated temperature and the use of antipyretics were associated with positive results.
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