EBNHC Partners with City of Boston and Boston Public Health Commission on COVID-19 Testing for First Responders

Drive-thru testing site at Suffolk Downs opened March 28

East Boston, MA, March 31, 2020—The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) is partnering with the City of Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission to offer first-responder COVID-19 testing at Suffolk Downs. The drive-thru testing site opened on Saturday, March 28. It is open only to qualified EMTs, firefighters, and police officers who are screened to make sure they meet the state criteria for testing. If testing is required, then drive-thru visits are scheduled by appointment only. The site is not open to the public.

EBNHC’s President and CEO, Manny Lopes, worked closely with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the Boston Public Health Commission, of which Lopes serves as Board Chair.

“The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center is proud to come to the aid of the City and of our first responders,” said Lopes. “We have been here for Boston for 50 years, and our staff members continue to show their commitment to our City and local communities even in the face of this terrible crisis. We must thank Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission, as well as additional partners HYM Investment Group and Suffolk Downs, Quest Diagnostics, Isgenuity, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for helping us launch this testing site.”

EBNHC is staffing the drive-thru testing site, with Chief Medical Officer Jackie S. Fantes, MD, FAAFP, overseeing staff and volunteers onsite daily. The site has screened 45 first responders in its first few days and is expected to screen an average of 50 patients per day for the foreseeable future.

The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) has been a vital part of the community for 50 years, providing easily accessible, high-quality health care to all who live and work in East Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Everett, Winthrop, and the South End.