Starting Nov. 20, Wayne Health (formerly Wayne State University Physician Group) is offering free mobile COVID-19 swab testing for students ages 3 and older and faculty of Detroit Public Schools Community District and their families through a partnership with Wayne State University and Ford Motor Co.

Mobile testing units will travel to schools throughout the district through a program supported by funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to COVID-19 testing, free blood pressure screening and HIV testing will be available. Through a partnership with the Detroit Parent Network, participants can also receive referrals to primary care physicians and to community resources for food, employment, utility assistance and more.

The “Stay Safe for the Holidays” testing effort’s first stop will be the Golightly Education Center, 5536 St. Antoine St. in Detroit, Nov. 20-22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The testing schedule for other DPSCD locations, and other locations across metropolitan Detroit, is available here.

No appointments or prescriptions are necessary for the drive-through testing and insurance is not required. People with or without symptoms qualify for testing.

“This program is in response to the surge in COVID cases in our community and the expanded need for testing, especially as we approach the holiday season,” explained Phillip Levy, M.D., M.P.H., chief innovation officer for Wayne Health, who leads the Mobile COVID Testing Program for Wayne Health and Wayne State University. “We hope to provide reassurance to those who test negative and ensure that those with positive results protect their families and receive the appropriate medical care.”

Test results will be provided through a secure text message within 48 to 72 hours of testing. Those who test positive are advised to contact a primary care physician immediately and to remain at home, avoiding contact with others, for at least 10 days.

“As COVID-19 rates have been increasing in the city and state, the importance of access to testing has also increased,” said Alycia Meriweather, DPSCD deputy superintendent of Partnerships and Innovation. “We thank our partners at Wayne Health for working with us to provide COVID-19 testing opportunities to DPSCD families and staff.”

Wayne Health and DPSCD first partnered to offer COVID-19 testing to students and staff at three locations in July and August in preparation for the return to school. The current testing program builds on that effort and will continue as long as needed.

Wayne Health launched a drive-through COVID-19 testing program in March in Detroit and Dearborn within days of the first cases in Michigan through a partnership with WSU Health Sciences and ACCESS. Focused at first on health care workers and first responders, it expanded to other community members. In April, the testing effort was the first in the state to go mobile, thanks to a donation of vehicles and equipment by Ford Motor Co. To date, more than 22,000 people have received COVID-19 testing through the mobile health program at more than 278 locations in the region.

Wayne Health, formerly the Wayne State University Physician Group, is a non-profit, multi-specialty academic group practice with nearly 400 dedicated physicians and advanced practice providers in 50 medical specialties offering a full spectrum of care, from birth to end-of-life, for individuals and families throughout southeastern Michigan. Wayne Health multi-specialty clinics are conveniently located in Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield and Troy, with single-specialty clinics in Livonia (Psychiatry), Monroe (Dermatology) and Taylor (Ophthalmology). Wayne Health is a proud partner in Detroit’s resurgence, with its corporate headquarters at 400 Mack Ave. in the heart of Midtown Detroit. For more information, visit www.waynehealthcares.org.