A new data note summarizes and analyzes survey data collected by HRSA, as reported for August 7, 2020. Among the key findings:
- Community health centers have tested more than 2.68 million patients for the COVID-19 infection since reporting began in April.
- Health center patients who have tested positive (340,974) account for for an estimated one in 14 of all COVID-19 cases nationally (6.9 percent).
- Nearly half (47 percent) of responding health centers reported turn-around times for test results of four or more days, an improvement compared to the 55 percent the prior week. Still, only 53 percent reported average turn-around times that met the Department of Health and Human Services acceptable standard of up to three days.
- One in 13 sites (996) was reported closed. The highest numbers of site closures were reported by health centers in California (148), Kentucky (90), and New York (86).
- Weekly visits remain below pre-COVID levels, and are presently 21 percent lower than prior to the pandemic.
- Four percent of responding health centers reported that they currently have no COVID-19 testing capacity, and at least seven percent of health centers lack the full range of PPE needed to safely conduct testing and maintain general operations.
The data continues to identify challenges that health centers face in both responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and in restoring operational capacity, and the need for both near-term and sustained funding to maintain services and access in hard-hit communities.
The data note was authored by Jessica Sharac, James Hernandez, Maria Velasquez, Peter Shin, Feygele Jacobs.