Exposition Park to expand COVID-19 testing for high-risk individuals
Exposition Park is opening new community-based testing sites (CBTS) to expand COVID-19 testing for Los Angeles residents, supported by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and in collaboration with Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Program.
Starting May 4th, residents can screen their symptoms and, if eligible, can make an appointment for testing at Exposition Park online using the Baseline COVID-19 Program online screener and appointment scheduling system found at www.projectbaseline.com/COVID19. This program is first focusing on high-risk populations as advised by national guidelines. The screening and testing criteria are based on public health guidelines and may be updated to reflect the latest guidance from public health authorities.
Exposition Park community-based COVID-19 testing program is directed by the office of councilman Curren Price. In collaboration, the Baseline COVID-19 Program provides a connected solution to support individuals from screening through testing and receipt of their test results. Verily developed The Baseline COVID-19 Program working closely with state and local government health authorities and other private health organizations to expand access to COVID-19 screening and testing in areas with a high volume of known cases.
Eligible persons must be 18 years or older, live in Los Angeles and willing to electronically sign the COVID-19 Public Health Authorization Form and Lab Consent. Based on the COVID-19 screener and testing appointment availability, individuals will learn whether they are eligible for testing through this program and be provided a testing location appointment. Please visit www.projectbaseline.com/COVID19 to learn more.
What is a California community-based testing site?
The California community-based COVID-19 testing program is a state-directed, federally supported public health program operated in partnership with local public health agencies, the California Governor’s office, and the California Department of Public Health and includes philanthropic support and contributions from a number of entities, including Verily and Google, and partners across the healthcare industry.
What is the Baseline COVID-19 Program?
The Baseline COVID-19 Program was established as part of California’s community-based testing program under the direction of the California Department of Public Health. The Baseline COVID-19 Program is a connected and secure solution to support individuals from screening through testing and receipt of their test results, which is done under physician direction. Unlike a simple digital screener, this connected solution enables follow-up with individuals who are screened for future testing based on changes in screening criteria. This program has already screened thousands of individuals in California.
What is Project Baseline by Verily?
Project Baseline is an initiative to make it easy and engaging for people to contribute to the map of human health and participate in clinical research. The Baseline platform is purpose-built for securely managing personal health information and has been in use for several years. In collaboration with the California Governor’s office, federal, state, and local public health authorities, the Baseline platform is being used to facilitate screening and testing people for COVID-19.
What is Verily?
Project Baseline was founded by Verily, a subsidiary of Alphabet focused on life sciences and healthcare and a sister company to Google.
How are testing sites determined?
The state of California is working to identify the best locations and the timeline to add additional community-based testing sites. Their criteria are focused on operating in the places where the public health will be most improved through testing.
What are the exact criteria for getting selected for testing?
The screening questions were designed using public health officials’ guidelines to assess an individual’s level of risk related to COVID-19 exposure and eligibility for testing through this program.
This program is first focusing on high-risk populations as advised by national guidelines and the California Department of Public Health. This will include those who may be exhibiting symptoms and have other risk factors. We are working to rapidly expand testing and will be updating the eligibility criteria under the guidance of the California Department of Public Health once more tests become available.
Who is administering the swab collection onsite?
Qualified healthcare providers, including nurses and nurse practitioners from a number of organizations, are administering the nasal swab collection procedure.
Who is processing the tests?
The tests are being processed by clinical lab testing facilities, such as Quest Diagnostics.
How much does testing cost?
Testing is free to individuals, other than the cost of gas/transportation to get to the testing facility.
How quickly are results returned?
The labs we work with have estimated that those tested will receive results within 2-5 days, however this may be longer depending on test processing. Lab capacity has been extremely limited in the early days of state-wide testing, and that capacity is steadily increasing over time.
Is the testing available for English speakers only?
As the effort moves out of the pilot phase, you can expect to see multiple languages offered, starting with Spanish.