Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BANGOR — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced a new partnership with community health centers designed to expand testing capabilities and refer patients to care, helping to relieve overburdened hospitals.

InterCare Community Health Network will work alongside MDHHS and 10 other health centers to stand up and operate a new drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 in Berrien County. located at 800 M-139 Benton Harbor. The site is open now to all local residents. Residents with symptoms who do not have a referral can call (855) 869-6900 for more information.

“Our mission is to improve community health by providing comprehensive, patient-centered primary health care.  As we find ourselves in unique and unprecedented times, we are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with MDHHS in this initiative as we continue to work to increase access and improve community health,” said Velma Hendershott, chief executive officer of InterCare Community Health Network.

In addition to supporting widespread testing efforts, Michiganders who call the state’s COVID-19 hotline and need a referral to a provider will be directed to their local community health center. Community health centers provide care to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. They can stabilize people with chronic conditions, helping to keep them out of the emergency department, and they can treat those who may need medical attention but don’t meet the criteria for hospitalization, officials said.

New drive-thru sites will also operate in Atlanta, Bad Axe, Battle Creek, Bay City, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo and Traverse City, and expand current testing in Grand Rapids, Jackson, Lansing, and Saginaw. Each site will aim to serve 100 to 300 individuals per day when fully operational.

“We’re grateful to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and MDHHS for recognizing the pivotal role that community health centers can play in providing care for residents without a regular doctor, opening new drive-thru testing locations, and alleviating the burden on our overrun hospitals,” said Dennis Litos, interim CEO of the Michigan Primary Care Association. “We’re incredibly proud of the care community health centers have been providing during this crisis, and they will continue to serve on the frontlines of COVID-19 relief efforts.”

To learn more about how community health centers in Michigan are responding to COVID-19, visit bit.ly/CHCResponse.