Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The Erie County Health Department sasy it's teaming up with Kaleida Health to provide free COVID19 testing to those in the agriculture industry.
Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein says Kaleida will be testing self-collected saliva samples. “We know that the Erie County agricultural community is taking significant precautions to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission among its workforce. However, agricultural settings may put farm workers at a higher risk for transmission of COVID-19 because of shared transportation and living quarters, and workers moving from farm to farm throughout the growing season.,” says Burstein. “Given the nature of agricultural work, it may be impractical for some farm workers to visit one of our County diagnostic test sites or community sites,” says Burstein. “In this program, Kaleida Health will distribute the sample collection kits to farms with detailed instructions, taking the test right to these workers. This is an innovative strategy to identify COVID cases in our community and keep our agricultural workers healthy and the food supply chain safe. We are eager to start this initiative.”
Farm owners and agricultural businesses that would like to participate in this program can contact the Kaleida Health Laboratories at (716) 626-7939 for additional information and scheduling. Farms and businesses will be responsible for delivering completed sample kits to a Kaleida collection site the day of collection. Testing is free, according to the health department.
“We have worked incredibly hard on behalf of the community when it comes to COVID-19 testing,” said Judy Baumgarter, president of Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and the Kaleida Health executive for the organization’s labs. “Thanks to the dedicated clinic and lab staff on our team, we have been able to test tens of thousands to date through our community partnerships and collaboration in government, nursing homes, clinics and other hospitals and health care facilities in Western New York. Expanding access to testing for the agricultural community is another important step in helping our community keep safe while we all collectively battle COVID-19.”