DORCHESTER, Mass. — On Tuesday morning in Dorchester, Brigham Health opened a new walk-in coronavirus testing site and is offering food boxes and care kits to those in need.
The site is located at the Sportsmen Tennis and Enrichment Center at 950 Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester Center.
“We’ve been going out to communities that are historically underserved and making sure that they get access to what they need to be healthy,” said Wanda McClain, VP of Community Health and Health Equity at Brigham Health.
Dorchester is one of the hardest hit areas, according to the city’s most recent weekly report.
“For us it was all about being in their community and making this easier for them to get to,” said Kelly Fanning, VP of Ambulatory Services at Brigham Health.
Anyone who suspects they have coronavirus symptoms can get tested on a walk-in, first-come, first-serve basis. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, shortness of breath and loss of smell.
Testing runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, May 15.
Those who want to get tested do not need to be a Brigham Health patient, won’t be asked about their immigration status and do not need to have health insurance.
“Removing all of those barriers, insurance, they don’t have to be a Brigham Health patient, they don’t have to be insured, we’re not asking about immigration, and the reason that is important is because we’re all in this together,” McClain said.
They’re also distributing large boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with care kits of masks and educational resources to anyone in need. These will be handed out 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Saturday, May 16.
Those who qualify can sign up to receive free food delivered to their home for the next eight weeks.
“We’ve seen people coming to the testing sites just for the food,” said Tracy Sylven, Director of Community Health and Wellness at Brigham Health.
"We know food insecurity has always existed, but certainly this pandemic has magnified things for people and really exacerbated the need.”
McClain said they’ve helped those in need in Hyde Park, Mission Hill, Roxbury and now Dorchester.
“We’ll let the data tell us where we go next,” McClain said.