Whatcom County residents may have recently seen announcements about free, at-home COVID testing kits available to everyone. The people responsible for distributing said tests want to let everybody know they should keep an eye out for even more information, because more tests may be on the way soon.
The first round of testing kits came from the federal government’s Health Services and Resource Administration. “They allow federally qualified community health centers like Unity Care NW access to order these tests,” says Unity’s Director of Planning and Development, Chris Kobdish. “Often, community health centers are a jumping off point for the federal government to get programs like this out into the community, since we already have relationships.”
Unity Care NW is working with established partnerships like the Whatcom County Health Department, area food banks, Northwest Youth Services, the City of Bellingham, and Whatcom County Library System to help spread the tests and the word “We’ve also been able to give some of our tests to the Opportunity Council, Base Camp and even the Mount Baker School District,” says Kobdish.
While the goal is to get as many tests as needed to whomever might need them, the massive nationwide program has to get through some growing pains first. “I was able to order starting the week of Christmas, but the national demand was so great that they couldn’t keep up—and there were snowstorms, and truck drivers that were sick,” Kobdish says. “But at this point, Unity has been able to distribute 42,500 free tests to patients, community partners, and staff. Our hope is that the program will get back on track and will be able to ramp up and continue to provide tens of thousands more.”
They hope to add additional safety measures to the program, as well. “We’ve signed up to be a recipient and distributor of free N95 masks,” Kobdish says. “Hopefully in the upcoming weeks we’ll learn more and be able to share high quality masks with the community, as well.”
Since Bellingham Fire Department’s Assistant Chief David Parker is in a great position to serve the public, it didn’t take him long to become part of the distribution network. “Chris Kobdish reached out to Rebecca Judd, the director of the Bellingham Public Library, thinking that the library could help distribute the tests,” says Parker. “But they don’t have curbside service, or the personnel to facilitate that. Rebecca reached out to me since I’m also the Acting Emergency Manager for the City.”
Judd and Parker brainstormed on ways to get the kits out to community. “We decided [to] have somebody on the administrative side during business hours here at Fire Station One that could distribute them,” Parker says. “I also reached out to some of the other Fire Districts in the county, and a lot of them have also picked up some kits.”
To get the tests to the public, Parker started making announcements to let residents know they were available. “We put out our media blitz, advertising that some of the food banks and county libraries had the test kits,” he says, “so that people in the county didn’t think they had to come all the way into Bellingham to pick them up.”
As more test kits arrive, members of the public can keep an eye on a variety of sources to find out when and where they are available. “I worked with the Health Department to put out a media release on Facebook, and we put out some social media releases on the Bellingham Fire Department’s social media in addition to that,” Parker says.
The uncertain schedule poses its own problems, but the sheer number of people in the county is a challenge all its own. Ann Beck at the Whatcom County Health Department is one of the people identifying ways to get tests into people’s hands. “We’re aware that there is probably going to be more of a demand than we’re going to be able to keep up with, so I’m working on trying to be able to triage as they come in,” she says. “My colleague Zach Doobrovsky has created a survey that we’ll use to collect data on where the needs are, whether they’re going to clients or staff, and where there are group living situations.”
In addition to working with well-known organizations like Opportunity Council, Beck is working to identify smaller groups that also need the safety that testing can provide. “We have partners who work with folks who have developmental disabilities who are working in employment programs,” Beck says. “They have co-workers and case managers working alongside them, so we’re in contact with agencies like Kulshan Supported Employment or Cascade Connections because they’re working with vulnerable populations and we want to make sure that they have testing for their staff and the clients they’re serving.”
In addition to at-home testing, Kobdish reminds people that there are other tools that help protect the public’s health. “I think we should always talk about preventing the spread. Getting vaccinated and boosted is the best way to protect yourself from serious disease, hospitalization, and death,” she says. “And trying to stop the spread through wearing a mask and social distancing wherever possible is also good. Our hope is that people will continue to be safe, and protect themselves and their community, and we’ll be able to get on the other side of this more quickly.”
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