Ali’i Health at Keauhou Shopping Center is one of the many health centers on the island doing testing for COVID-19. Advanced Practice Nurse Anne Broderson, who runs the effort, said on Monday morning that they will expand their testing from two days a week to three, because of demand. She said they’ve been testing around 70 people per day of testing.
Keauhou resident Claudia Kane said she was being tested because she’s on her way to visit her mother on the mainland, and wanted to make sure she was not going to inadvertently bring COVID-19 to her 92-year-old mother. Kane is one of many whose regular healthcare provider will only test if one has symptoms of COVID-19, whereas most of the drive-through testings rely on the discretion of the physicians on site doing screening, and are more lenient about offering testing to those who may not have active symptoms but have a good reason to be tested.
Broderson said Ali’i Health Center at Keauhou is now testing right behind the Regal Cinemas, and will be doing drive-through testing Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. until noon, beginning next Monday, July 13. This week they will have their final Thursday testing day on July 9 from 9 til noon. She said they routinely test people such as Kane who are going to the mainland and want to try to protect relatives, those who are in constant exposure to the public such as retail and grocery store workers, those who may have been close to somebody with COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms, and first responders of any kind. Also, some states are requiring either advance testing or a 14-day quarantine, such as Alaska and Maine.
Broderson said in a previous interview that they tailor their recommendation for those tested relative to quarantine while waiting for results, based on what Ali’i Health medical professionals see as the risk to the community. She also said they are getting test results in one or two days.
Ali’i Health is being supported by members of the Keauhou Canoe Club, who set up the tents on testing days and take them down when testing is done, and by the Hawaii National Guard. Deployed guard member Victorino from O’ahu said they’ve been deployed here since April 1 and expect to be on the island until August 1. The members of the Guard are staying at the Sheraton Kona.
Although Hawaii Island has only 7 active cases as of today, and 94 cumulative, O’ahu has had more than 329 new cases since June 1.
Click here for a previous interview with Broderson and Clayton McGahn, Executive Director of Ali’i Health Center. They talk about who is at most risk for COVID-19, and their policies and practices regarding testing.
Photos were taken at the Ali’i Health Center testing on Monday, July 6, 2020.
