TriCore Collaborates with City of Albuquerque to Ready the Community for Respiratory Virus Season
MEDIA CONTACT – TRICORE
Beth Bailey
Director, Strategic Development & Communications
917.449.9518
****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****
TRICORE COLLABORATES WITH CITY OF ALBUQUEQUE TO READY THE COMMUNITY FOR RESPIRATORY VIRUS SEASON
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – December 15, 2022 — In collaboration with the City of Albuquerque, TriCore has launched a proactive, data-driven, targeted community outreach program to bring mobile COVID-19 and Flu testing into vulnerable communities this respiratory virus season.
TriCore has been the industry leader in diagnostics in New Mexico and is now able to apply proprietary algorithms to its robust laboratory database and identify, in real-time, communities where viral transmission is highest (potential hot spots) or where insufficient testing is being conducted (potential testing deserts). TriCore then deploys a mobile testing unit to a nearby community center and offers free, onsite, rapid testing to members of the community. Over 20 Albuquerque community centers and multigenerational centers are participating in this program with an emphasis on lower-income and resource-limited communities.
“During a severe flu season, 1 in 5 people can be infected. Proactive, real-time identification of hot spots and testing deserts is a proven, successful strategy to mitigate the spread of respiratory viruses through laboratory testing,” says Dr. Karissa Culbreath, TriCore Section Chief Medical Director of Infectious Disease. “The collaboration with the City of Albuquerque has been essential. Access to timely testing has been a barrier to health equity in low-income and predominantly minority communities. Partnering with our city’s community and multigenerational centers to bring testing into the community removes that barrier and promotes health equity.”
“TriCore played a critical role in New Mexico’s COVID-19 response, and they demonstrate their sustained commitment through this innovative community outreach program,” said Nichole Rogers, City of Albuquerque’s Office of Black Community Engagement. “The City’s Office of Black Community Engagement and Family & Community Services are honored to work with TriCore to ensure the most vulnerable communities have access to testing right in their neighborhoods.” Nichole Rogers, African American Community Liaison.
TriCore’s mobile testing program is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) initiative to speed innovation in the development, commercialization, and implementation of technologies for COVID-19 testing.
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About TriCore TriCore is an independent, not-for-profit, clinical reference laboratory founded and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. TriCore provides over 2,900, full-service, state-of-the-art laboratory tests to healthcare professionals and their patients. TriCore also provides analytics and research services, supporting healthcare and scientific organizations worldwide. For more information, visit tricore.org.