Rotarians Bob Moss and Doug Thompson; Dr. Tiffany Meadow, MD; Dr. Philip Sutherland, MD who is associate director of the Clinic; and, Don McDowell, Chattanooga Rotary Club
With a rise in COVID cases across the community, the Chattanooga Rotary Club is providing funding to purchase over 400 combined Cepheid cartridges. The cartridges will allow for the rapid detection of COVID, Flu A/B, and RSV in the most vulnerable and uninsured populations in Chattanooga.
The local Rotary Club provided $15,000 for the effort and applied for a matching grant from the Rotary Foundation that resulted in a total of $30,000 for the effort. Clínica Médicos has performed over 25,000 COVID-19 tests, administered over 15,000 COVID-19 vaccines, and built a dedicated COVID-19 unit and staff, all the while championing equitable testing practices, whether for the uninsured or undocumented population so that all segments of the Chattanooga community remained as healthy and safe as possible.
The Cepheid cartridge used by Clinica Medicos is a single test that detects and differentiates between SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B, and RSV (common respiratory virus with cold-like symptoms).
The test provides rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 (as quickly as 25 minutes) and provides results for all four pathogens in just 36 minutes with less than a minute of hands-on time. This is critical as patients have a rapid diagnosis and can then be instructed to follow specific procedures to minimize or eliminate further community spread of the designated pathogen.
Over the past six years, Clínica Médicos has served over 40,000 registered patients, >90% of whom are Latino, >50% of whom are uninsured, and >85% of whom are living below the federal poverty line. They work with La Paz, the Mayor's LatinX working group, Que Buena Radio, Life Spring and CEMPA for COVID messaging to make sure that unified, accurate vaccination and testing information is made available to the large Latino community in Chattanooga. Accurate information, confidence in medical personnel, and precise, rapid tests are critical to minimizing pathogen spread in one of Chattanooga’s most vulnerable communities.
Between 400-500 individuals will benefit from Rotary’s contribution.
Dr. Kelly Arnold of Clínica Médicos said, “We are truly grateful for the relationship we have with the Chattanooga Rotary Club. Our mission is to make quality healthcare accessible to Chattanooga’s underserved Latino community regardless of insurance status, language, pregnancy, age or gender. Every dollar we receive goes directly into healthcare or the education of physicians and residents who join us in focusing on good health for those we serve.”
Rotary Club President Virginia Anne Sharber said, “Don McDowell and Doug Thompson co-chair our club projects committee and have done an amazing job of doubling the donation to Clínica Médicos through a matching grant from District 6780. We are honored and grateful to put these dollars to work in the community.”