HealthFinders COVID-19 Testing Progress: June Update
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to move swiftly through our state and community, HealthFinders Collaborative (HFC) is making progress in its testing. No-cost testing is available to patients who are uninsured and/or eligible for HFC services and exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Testing criteria has also recently been expanded to include asymptomatic individuals who have other risk categories that indicate testing is appropriate, such as having attended protests or cleanup events in the Twin Cities, or who work in high-risk areas, like nursing homes or other congregate living facilities.
Increasing testing availability in the region is crucial to addressing COVID-19 in Minnesota by identifying patients who have the virus so they can isolate, slowing the spread within our communities.
Supporting Patients Through the Process
Testing occurs at HealthFinders’ Faribault facility on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 1 to 4 p.m. Appointments are required. Test results are available after one to three days.
When a patient tests positive, HealthFinders staff provide information about the virus, information on how to isolate at home, and discuss how the patient can best care for themselves. Patients are added to HealthFinders’ watch list and checked in on frequently by HealthFinders clinical staff members who offer reassurance, resources, education, and symptom treatment information.
HealthFinders is dedicated to continuously assessing all patients, ensuring they have their needs met, even while in isolation. Patients are often connected to other necessary community resources. For example, a COVID-19 positive patient was connected to emergency housing through Rice County Public Health, and another was connected to home food delivery.
“We communicate with our patients frequently – some daily – to ensure they are recovering well at home,” shares one of HealthFinders’ Certified Nurse Practitioners, Courtney Kiesow. “Many of our patients speak Spanish, and though my Spanish isn't always spotless, we can connect, emphasize safety, answer questions, and talk through any fears they have.”
Local Impact
To date, HealthFinders has conducted 52 COVID-19 tests, with approximately 70% returning a positive result. Recently, Rice County Public Health reported 36% of positive patient cases identified as Black and 33% identified as Hispanic. Most cases that have been identified are in Faribault, and these numbers represent more than three times the proportion of those populations in Faribault. This makes Rice County home to some of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Minnesota, meaning the county has the sixth-highest incidence rate statewide – measured by positive cases per population – and the second-highest rate in the southeast Minnesota region.
Our Partnerships Help Patients
Free COVID-19 testing at HealthFinders is made possible by a successful partnership with Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS). MCHS has also offered to conduct at-home monitoring for some medically complex patients, a tremendous help to HealthFinders patients and the organization as a whole.
"Our partnership with MCHS has allowed us to meet a critical community need,” says HFC’s Director of Clinical Care and Certified Nurse Practitioner, Emily Carroll. “We are so grateful that Mayo has extended their testing capacity to us." HealthFinders reciprocates by testing MCHS patients who cannot travel to their nearest testing site in Owatonna. An emergency grant from the Minnesota Department of Health also provided funding necessary to help build capacity during this time.
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