Free Weekly Community Testing Site to Open in Centreville
Monday May 16, 2022
BHSJ partners with Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse and HONU for COVID-19 testing
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJCHA) is pleased to partner with Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service of St. Joseph County, Michigan Department of Health Human Services, and HONU to offer a FREE COVID-19 testing site starting Tuesday May 17, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
This curbside testing site will operate every Tuesday at Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service of St. Joseph County, Administrative Entrance parking lot, located at 677 E. Main St., Centreville, MI. Testing will be available every Tuesday through the summer months. This site will be in addition to the free COVID-19 testing site held at the agency’s Three Rivers location at 1110 Hill St., Three Rivers, every Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
“The discontinuation of the testing and vaccination site at Glen Oaks College allowed us to evaluate the community’s needs in St. Joseph County,” says Rebecca Burns, Health Officer. “The agency continues to monitor community transmission of COVID-19, which is currently low in all three counties. The Omicron variant is continuing to circulate among our residents as new cases are reported each week. We are pleased to partner with Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County for a convenient location in which to continue offering testing services in Centreville. Early testing can provide the best opportunity for treatment of COVID-19. Vaccination continues to be our best prevention strategy, not only for COVID-19, but for many other communicable diseases as well.”
“Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is pleased to offer a location to support ongoing community testing in Centreville,” says Kristine Kirsch, Executive Director. “Our agency is committed to supporting the mental and physical health of our county. Mental health service needs have increased during the pandemic. Depression, anxiety, and isolation have taken a toll, but we are here to help. Adding COVID-19 testing is another opportunity for us to support residents’ whole health.”
“This will be a curbside testing site. Motorists will drive up to a parking space in the Administrative Entrance parking lot. The reserved testing spaces will be marked with a cone. The resident will utilize a QR code or call the posted phone number to alert testing staff they have arrived. Residents are asked to remain in their cars and HONU staff will come to them to provide the testing services,” says Jim Cook, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is committed to promoting wellness, preventing disease, providing health care, and protecting the environment.