Lafayette, CO – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clinica Family Health and Boulder County Public Health are partnering to offer testing for novel coronavirus to the general public experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Testing is available via drive-through clinic at Clinica’s Lafayette facility at 1735 S. Public Road, Monday-Friday, 9a.m. to noon, or until daily testing supplies run out.

Testing is available to anyone who may is currently experiencing coronavirus-type symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) and meets the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) criteria for testing:

• Health care workers with flu-like symptoms
• Individuals with flu-like symptoms who are living in residential settings such as a homeless shelter
• Individuals older than 65 with symptoms
• Individuals with underlying conditions with symptoms
• First responders with symptoms
• Critical infrastructure workers with symptoms
• People with symptoms who work with vulnerable populations or in group residential settings
• Other individuals with symptoms

A member of the Clinica care team will assess each individual based on the CDPHE criteria for appropriateness for testing. A doctor’s order is not needed to get tested. Anyone without flu-like symptoms will be provided information about COVID-19, but will not be tested. Spanish-speaking staff are available.

“Foremost, Clinica is a community health center, and right now – during this pandemic – we want to be here for our community,” said Simon Smith, Clinica’s president and CEO. “COVID-19 is creating a difficult health care environment. It is impacting people’s physical health, mental health and financial stability. Our staff are extremely skilled at providing exceptional care during high-stress situations like this.”

Broad testing is necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. Testing leads to quick identification of people with the illness, quick care for those people, and immediate isolation to prevent spread of the disease. Early testing also helps to identify anyone who was in close contact (within 6 feet for more than 10 minutes) with the infected person so that they too can quickly receive care and be separated from others to stop disease spread.

“We are so grateful for Clinica and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s partnership to make testing more available here in Boulder County. Testing is critical to moving forward and we are pleased that supplies are becoming more available,” said Jeff Zayach, Boulder County Public Health executive director. “One thing that’s important to remember is that as testing increases, we will see more people test positive for COVID-19. Testing has been very limited and we’ve known the disease is circulating in the community. As we ease restrictions it will be critically important that we follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks when we cannot easily maintain 6 feet distance, wash our hands frequently, and avoid touching our faces. Testing like Clinica is providing will be a vital piece of tracking and tracing, which will help us control the virus and save lives.”

Clinica staff will conduct the test while the individual remains in their vehicle. Staff will collect a sample of nasal secretions by inserting a swab into the person’s nostril. The sample will be sent to a lab for testing and Clinica staff will follow up with each person when the results come back.

While people do not need an appointment for a test, they do need to bring identification and insurance information if they have it. Anyone wanting a test will be asked to provide basic information about their symptoms as well as contact information to follow up on test results. Alternately, people can go to www.clinica.org and download the form they will need to complete and bring it to the testing site.

Clinica is waiving all co-payments but will bill an individual’s insurance provider for the test. Clinica patients without insurance will be charged a flat fee of $86.94; new patients will be charged $152.97. Clinica offers discount programs for people without insurance and will work with individuals who need help covering the cost of testing.

Clinica expects to have supplies to perform 50-75 tests each day. If demand is high, testing might end earlier than scheduled. Additional information about COVID-19 and Clinica’s services are available at www.clinica.org. Information about COVID-19 illness and recovery among Boulder County residents, visit www.boco.org/covid19illnessrecovery.

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Contact for more information:

Susan Wortman, Vice President of Development
Clinica Family Health (via email)
303.665.3036, x1640

-BoulderCountyHealth.org-