COVID-19 screening and testing is being offered at the 21 Community Health Centers clinics around the state. Many clinics are offering drive-up/curbside services, and some are offering special drive thru testing dates in the community.
Of the 21 community health center sites, 18 offer drive up or curbside services. Patients need to call ahead to the health center. Once they arrive in the parking lot, they call and talk to the provider on the phone. The providers will come out to the patient’s vehicle to perform the testing, if needed.
Five community health centers in the state have special drive through testing events where no appointment is necessary planned the week of April 20, 2020, including:
Coldwater, Batesville and Tunica, Miss.
Thursday, April 23
Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Inc.
Batesville Clinic location
216 Highway 51 North, Batesville, MS 38606
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Friday, April 24
Arena and Expo Center parking lot
Tunica, 3873 Highway 61, Tunica, MS 38676
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Provided by Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center
Cleveland, Miss.
Thursday, April 23
Delta Health Center – Vacant Lot
806 E. Sunflower Road, Cleveland, MS 38732
8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(Located off Martin Luther King at E. Sunflower Road – Across from Bolivar Medical Center)
Provided by Delta Health Center
Ocean Springs, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Thursday, April 23
in Jackson County at Mosaic Church parking lot
2226 Bienville Blvd., Ocean Springs
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Friday, April 24
in Harrison County at Goodwill parking lot
2407 31st St. Gulfport
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Provided by Coastal Family Health Center
Laurel, Taylorsville, Waynesboro, Miss.
Thursday, April 23
The Waynesboro clinic
713 Lomax Avenue
Waynesboro, MS 39367
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday, April 24
The Laurel Clinic
117 South 11th Avenue, Laurel, MS 39440
8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Provided by Family Health Clinic
Tchula, Krueger, Pickens, Miss.
Friday, April 23
Across from the Policy Station, Pickens, MS
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Provided by Mallory Community Health
Click here for a list of health centers around Mississippi and how to get more information about each health center’s clinics screening and testing options.
Any Mississippian having symptoms of COVID-19 or any health problem can turn to Mississippi’s community health centers for help.
Community health centers provide local access to primary healthcare needs ranging from screenings, testing, routine check-ups, chronic disease management, to urgent and emergent dental care to mental health care. Especially valuable during this COVID-19 epidemic, community health centers across the state lessen the impact on emergency departments and reduce the need for hospitalization by providing effective and efficient primary care in the community where residents live.
“Community Health Centers are on the frontline of defense,” said Janice Sherman, CEO of the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi. “During this COVID-19 crisis, the health centers mitigate pressures on hospital emergency departments and the need for hospital beds by providing a place where anyone can be seen for screening and testing. Staying out of the emergency room cuts down on costs to the overall health care system.”
Mississippi’s 21 community health centers make up the largest federally funded primary care system of outpatient clinics in the state of Mississippi. With more than 200 sites located in communities, schools and mobile units, community health centers employ more than 1,800 medical professionals and, in many cases, are the largest employer in rural communities. These medical professionals at community health centers care for more than 308,000 men, women and children.
Telehealth is also available at many of the health center clinics statewide. To find a community health center near you, visit chcams.org and click on Find a Health Center at the top of the page.