alabama

The Church of the Highlands in Alabama responds to the coronavirus crisis by offering drive-through COVID-19 testing for everyone experiencing symptoms. And also for those who have been exposed to someone suffering from the disease. They offer this even to those who cannot afford to pay for it.

According to The Christian Post, the church will start their testing on Tuesday at their Grandview campus.

Apparently, the Church of the Highlands partnered with Assurance Scientific and the Christ Health Center in order to start the initiative. People who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients, and those experiencing symptoms like cough or fever are welcome to receive the testing.

COVID-19 Testing

Alabama’s largest church revealed in a statement on their website that they will be operating daily from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. And it will be consulted by the Jefferson County Department of Health.

Also, the coronavirus testing will only be limited to 500 people per day.

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“Testing resources are scarce nationally and are limited to those experiencing symptoms of cough or fever or persons who have had direct in-person exposure to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Please help protect these resources by not presenting if you are not certain you need to be tested,” wrote the church in their Facebook post.

The test results will then be made available within 72 hours.

Requirement Before Undergoing Testing

To allocate the resources carefully, before the person can go through the test, he/she must first pass the pre-screening questions.

“In the interest of public health, all persons must remain in their vehicles with their windows rolled-up,” stated the Christ Health Center and Church of the Highlands in a report. “As you are presenting for possible contagious disease, no restroom facilities will be available.”

They also request people who underwent COVID-19 testing to do “self-quarantine” until they receive a negative COVID-19 result.

Moreover, anyone can do the testing and bill it through their insurance provider. Medicare, Medicaid, or a major insurance carrier is accepted.

On top of that, those who cannot afford and have no insurance will be covered by the funds raised by Church of the Highlands, Assurance Scientific, and Christ Health Center. So that “no one will be turned away for inability to pay.”

Pastor Chris Hodges’ Statement

Senior Pastor Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands preached during his online sermon on Sunday. He said, “It’s a whole lot more than whether we have a church service or not. Our church is not a service, our church has a service. This is really one small part of who we are as a church.”

The pastor also shared how church representatives have been meeting with local health officials and mayors. Because they are figuring out as a church how to “serve our communities in every way we can.”

“If you have hope, listen to me, our city needs us right now,” he urged the believers. “The people around us need us right now and people are discouraged. They think the sky is falling. This is serious, make no mistake about it. This is a global pandemic. It’s a serious issue. We are going to survive this. I know we are.”

Source: The Christian Post

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