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Northeast Ohio鈥檚 community health centers are preparing to ramp up coronavirus testing efforts, with a focus on minority and high-risk populations.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced in his Thursday press conference a strategy to address racial disparities in coronavirus prevention, including expanded COVID-19 testing capacity. Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP) in Cleveland is working with other health centers in Cuyahoga, Summit and Lorain counties to come up with plans for addressing virus response needs in communities that typically distrust the healthcare system.

鈥淲e need to be able to work with community partners to get testing out into locations where people will feel comfortable,鈥� said NFP President and CEO Jean Polster. 鈥淏ut we also will be exploring as a group of community health centers whether or not we should have large mobile testing stations.鈥�

Some community health centers have already been testing for a few weeks, Polster said, including NF, where limited testing for current patients program began a few weeks ago. But federal funding was distributed a week ago to officially expand testing in hard-to-reach communities, she said.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing right now is rapidly scaling up our capabilities with the federal funding we received, and working very, very closely with the governor and his health officials,鈥� Polster said.

NFP administered about 40 tests for COVID-19 last week, Polster said, but the center is currently preparing to increase that capacity.

鈥淣ow that testing is more available, we鈥檙e moving more into a public health mode, where you want to look and see if you can determine where there鈥檚 asymptomatic spread going on,鈥� she said.

The center will work with other trusted community partners get resources to groups that haven鈥檛 been included in previous testing, Polster said, including local refugee populations. The goal is to address the disproportionate impact the coronavirus has on minorities and to help protect people with chronic illnesses who may be susceptible.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a trusted resource in the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow can we extend that capability so that we can get into communities that often distrust regular healthcare and make sure that they鈥檙e getting tested and staying safe?鈥�

At the same time, NFP will continue to test those who are symptomatic, Polster said, and work to get them results quickly so they can take the proper next steps, if needed.

鈥淢any of the folks that are most impacted by the virus are the essential workers,鈥� Polster said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 a lot of who community health centers see as their patients.鈥�

NFP is collaborating with hospitals and other health centers to expand testing without overlap, Polster said. More details will be available next week.