Media contact: Bob Shepard
A new COVID-19 testing site opens today at Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority, in partnership with Live HealthSmart Alabama and the Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Both walk-up and drive-through testing will be conducted Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on the top floor of the Cooper Green parking deck. Participants are encouraged to call (205) 975-2819 to make an appointment. Walk-up participants will be welcomed.
“Increasing options for testing is critical to reach all population groups,” said Raegan Durant, M.D., medical director for Cooper Green Mercy Health Services Authority and associate professor of preventive medicine at UAB. “This site makes testing possible and convenient for our Cooper Green patients and others with reduced access to care. With flu season rapidly approaching, it is vital that we control the spread of COVID-19.”
“Community testing is an essential part of the strategy to contain and ultimately end the pandemic,” said Mona Fouad, M.D., director of the MHRC. “The MHRC has been a leader in community testing for COVID-19 in Birmingham and Jefferson County since we launched mobile testing locations on April 30, 2020. We are pleased to expand our partnership with Cooper Green to establish this testing site and help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Funding is provided by the Jefferson County Commission through the CARES Act, with the goal of increasing community-based testing in the county, particularly in areas serving vulnerable populations.