April 13, 2020- Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) is grateful to receive the much needed nearly $3.2 Million aid award from (HRSA) the Health Resources and Services Administration. The money will partially fund CHI’s efforts to help the community battle the COVID-19 pandemic. CHI was the first to offer drive-through COVID-19 testing in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties and continues to do so. In fact, today it opens a new drive through COVID-19 testing location at CHI’s campus in Homestead, the Martin Luther King/Clinica-Campesina Health Center 74 SW 6th Ave., Homestead, FL 33030 from 10am to 1pm.
“Our COVID-19 response was swift and immediate to ensure that our community was cared for in its time of dire need,” said Brodes H. Hartley, Jr., President and CEO of CHI. “But the cost of that was weighing heavily on us as a non-profit healthcare organization. Without this aid award, the financial fallout would have been tremendous. This COVID-19 aid will ensure that we continue to provide COVID-19 response and sustain the services of our 11 health centers and programs.”
The award comes under CARES Act funding and will serve to fund continued COVID-19 testing, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. It will also help CHI maintain increased staffing levels and health center capacity during this pandemic.
The organization’s health centers remain open and serving patients throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. But in an effort to keep people at home, CHI has implemented telehealth services so that patients can see the doctor via video or telephonically while in the comfort and safety of their own home. CHI is offering the following services via telehealth: primary care, pediatrics, behavioral health for adults and children, limited OB/GYN and dental services. Most insurances are accepted, and CHI offers a sliding fee income-based scale for patients who are uninsured.
CHI’s COVID-19 testing continues to be free for those who meet the testing criteria:
They have recently traveled to any of the high-risk countries or have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19. In addition, they might be experiencing the following symptoms: fever, cough or shortness of breath.
Drive through testing for CHI’s three locations is as follows:
Loren Roberts Park, 627 NW 6th Ave., Florida City, Florida every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 1pm. (No need to call first for this testing location and no appointment necessary)
Martin Luther King/Clinica Campesina Health Center Campus 74 SW 6th Ave., Homestead, FL 33030 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm starting April 13th. (No need to call first for this testing location and no appointment necessary)
CHI Marathon Health Center 2805 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050 every Saturday from 11am to 12:30pm BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Must be a resident of Monroe County and meet testing criteria. Call first (305)216-2107 or email KeysCovid19@chisouthfl.org
CHI has also integrated behavioral health staff into its COVID-19 testing operations. This team of therapists and mental health technicians helps to ease anxiety and stress related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Since 1971, CHI has been a beacon of hope providing access to high quality healthcare for all regardless of insurance status, income level or background. The non-profit federally qualified health center offers comprehensive healthcare services including primary care, pediatrics, OB/GYN, dental, urgent care, behavioral health, vision, radiology, pharmacy, transportation and more. CHI has 11 health centers and 35 school-based sites. CHI is a recipient of the Florida Governor’s Sterling Award, which is accredited by the Joint Commission and is also accredited as a patient centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. CHI is also designated as a behavioral health medical home. In addition, CHI is home to the Brodes H. Hartley Jr., Teaching Health Center, training the next generation of doctors in family medicine and psychiatry. CHI intends to break ground in 2020 on the first Children’s Crisis Center in southern Miami-Dade County. It will service kids with severe behavioral health problems from Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties.
