Caddo Commission, LSU Health Shreveport Partner to Provide Mobile Rapid COVID-19 Testing in Caddo Parish

A mobile COVID-19 testing lab for medically underserved citizens began visiting sites across Caddo Parish this week, thanks in part to a partnership with LSU Health Shreveport and the Caddo Parish Commission.

LSU Health Shreveport continued a longtime alliance with David Raines Community Health Center to bring Fast Track COVID-19 Screenings to the Martin Luther King neighborhood. People wishing to be *screened should call (318) 227-3354 as soon as possible. Individuals will be prescreened by phone for COVID-19 related symptoms and registered for on-site drive thru testing if they meet testing criteria. There is no out of pocket costs for testing (insurance will be billed if applicable). Individuals wishing to be screened will need a physician order either from their personal physician or from a physician assigned at David Raines which requires registration and a signed consent and testing waiver. Test processing will be provided by the Emerging Viral Threat (EVT) lab at LSU Health Shreveport. Results will be sent to each individuals’ physician who will then relay results. 

The screenings will take place Saturday, April 25, and Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot outside of the David Raines Community Health Center located at 1625 David Raines Road. Those being tested will stay in their vehicles to receive nasal swab testing conducted by LSU Health Shreveport staff. 

*This is a screening only and not a medical evaluation. People with chronic health conditions or moderate to severe symptoms should be evaluated by a provider as soon as possible.  

Realizing the need for more testing in rural and other underserved locations in Caddo, the Caddo Parish Commission voted to provide up to $175,000 to LSU Health Shreveport for the Clinic’s mobile unit. The allocation will assist with operations and testing. Expanded testing is north Louisiana will occur thanks to a $125,000 gift by Inferno Manufacturing Corporation led by Allen Organick, President. 

“This opportunity allows the LSU Health Shreveport a great way to improve access to COVID-19 testing in our communities. More testing is needed to give us a better idea of where we stand and how quickly we can reopen,” stated LSUHS Chancellor G. E. Ghali, MD, DDS, FACS, FRCS(Ed).

“The Caddo Parish Commission is proud to support the efforts of LSU Health Shreveport and to provide more testing for COVID-19 in our communities.  Through this partnership, we hope to see greater access to medical resources, and ultimately, data that will move us closer to a vaccine and treatment of this disease,” said Caddo Commission President Mario Chavez.

Saturday’s testing site will be the first of multiple mobile locations across the Parish and northwest Louisiana.

The testing schedule is as follows, with more dates to be added in the future: