Madison County to deploy mobile COVID‑19 testing unit to underserved communities

Madison County Chairman Kurt Prenzler announced on May 20 that the county will roll out a mobile COVID‑19 testing unit intended to serve underserved, low‑income and minority communities. The mobile unit will offer drive‑up and walk‑up testing, the board was told.

The project grew out of work led by Board Member Ray Wesley, who chairs the Health Department Committee, and involvement from Health Department Director Toni Corona. Prenzler said county leaders have been in contact with the SIU School of Medicine and Lewis and Clark Community College to provide personnel and equipment. "We will be rolling out a mobile COVID‑19 testing unit that can travel to underserved areas of the County and do drive‑up or walk‑up testing," Prenzler said during the board meeting.

Wesley confirmed the timing: "Yes, the plan is to start early next week." A county official noted Lewis and Clark offered a mobile health unit and Dr. Jerry Kruse, dean at the SIU School of Medicine, "has offered to train staff and volunteers of the mobile testing unit." Board member Doc Holliday also noted the effort would begin immediately.

Director Toni Corona provided further operational context later in the meeting, saying the mobile model aims to reach communities with limited access to existing test sites. "I’m really, really happy and proud of the partnerships that have been formed," Corona said, adding the county has been working with Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation and SIU to stand up sites. She stressed that testing capacity countywide remains limited: "For a population this large, to say we’ve only had approximately 4,184 tests ... that’s really not enough tests to give us a good indication within our population." Corona said the mobile sites could be placed at multi‑housing locations or housing‑authority common areas to reach many residents quickly.

Corona said the county can use Illinois Department of Public Health laboratory access for these community testing events, which allows testing beyond strict symptomatic or physician‑ordered cases in some circumstances. She also said county staff will assist with logistics and publicizing sites and that grant or board funding may be needed to cover startup costs.

Board members praised the outreach plan and asked for budget details; Corona said staff are still calculating potential costs and hoped to limit county outlays by leveraging partners and grants. The board voted to move forward with the project; Corona will report back under New Business with any formal funding requests.

The mobile testing rollout is scheduled to begin with a pilot in Alton, with other sites to be added based on need and logistics.