September 8, 2020
(Austin, Texas) – Central Health and its affiliate CommUnityCare Health Centers opened a new drive-through COVID-19 testing site at 7019 Burleson Road in Austin on Aug. 27.
The new site will be open for testing from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday, and consolidates the Southeast Metropolitan Park testing location, which will close.
CommUnityCare will have the capacity to test up to 200 people per day at the new site, which is a large, modern warehouse space. People will drive inside the warehouse where testing can be conducted while they remain in their vehicle. Because testing staff is indoors, it allows them to be flexible with operating hours throughout the year without being affected by weather. All other CommUnityCare drive-up testing sites are outdoors, and recently hours were shifted earlier in the day to keep staff safe from the heat.
“We are constantly working with CommUnityCare to find ways to help people who are being hit hardest by this pandemic,” Central Health President & CEO Mike Geeslin said. “We picked this site because we can serve uninsured residents in communities where we’ve seen high COVID-19 positivity rates, like Del Valle, Montopolis and Dove Springs. We want to make COVID-19 testing more sustainable and increase testing capacity, and the Burleson Road location does both.”
CommUnityCare, with financial support from Central Health, signed a lease for the facility and CommUnityCare will operate the site, handling all staffing and testing. Administrators hope the site can serve as a testing hub for Southeast Travis County, similar to the Hancock testing hub in Central Austin. Located on Burleson Road between East Stassney Lane and McKinney Falls Parkway, the facility is near SH 71 and 183 southbound, and is accessible by Capital Metro bus routes 228 and 311.
CommUnityCare and Central Health administrators were looking for a long-term testing site and worked closely with local elected officials, partners and community members to find an appropriate location that was conveniently located and able to accommodate a large volume of traffic.
“The virus isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Our team is conducting long-range planning and thinking about how this site can best serve the community as the situation evolves,” CommUnityCare Chief Operating Officer Yvonne Camarena said. “For instance, once a vaccine is available, we hope to be able to offer drive-up immunizations here – for COVID-19, influenza, and possibly others.”
For detailed information on CommUnityCare COVID-19 testing sites and hours, visit communitycaretx.org or call CommUnityCare’s COVID-19 hotline at 512-978-8775.