Sixteenth Street health center on Milwaukee's south side prepares for winter with COVID-19 testing and response structures
Jessica Rodriguez
As COVID-19 cases continue to challenge the South Side Community, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers announced Tuesday its winterized testing and post care response.
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers will open two weather-appropriate structures to house COVID-19 testing and follow-up care throughout the winter months. One structure will serve as a drive-through COVID-19 testing site and flu vaccination center. The second structure will serve as “Safe Care Tent” for COVID-19 follow-up care and urgent care services.
Clinic officials hope to open the center within the next week, Sixteenth Street physician Pamela Wilson said.
The site will give Sixteenth Street the ability to test 160 individuals per day, which is consistent with the amount of testing the clinic has been doing.
“We are thrilled to be able to enhance and continue this service through the winter months.”
The Safe Care Tent will house 14 exam rooms with two spaces for offices. Both tents will be heated.
“The addition of these structures ... is extremely important because the South Side continues to be one of the most significant COVID-19 hotspots in the city,” Wilson said. “Today, Sixteenth Street has tested more than 15,000 people. Of the tests conducted in the last week, over 43% were positive for COVID-19. This is an extremely alarming statistic. If we are going to get through this, continued access to testing and care for our community through the winter months is critical.”
The project was made possible through the funding from Routes to Recovery Program, the Milwaukee Health Department and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
“The numbers are extremely high on the South Side, but I am confident that investing in the South Side will help us from spreading the disease and keep residents safe," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday.