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Council members press health officials on South County testing and clinic access
Summary
Council members raised persistent access gaps in South County (Dyer Center area), asked how to expand testing and clinic hours, and were told staffing and funding constraints limit immediate expansion; department estimated $400,000 annually to fully fund a school-based wellness center.
Several council members told the Board the county cannot tolerate hotspots without nearby services, pointing to Oxon Hill and other South County neighborhoods as underserved.
"There seems to me to be a real need there… there's no place in South County where someone can easily get tested," Council Member Burrows said, pressing department staff for solutions. Presenters acknowledged service gaps at the Dyer Health Center on Piscataway and said the department still offers testing there but cannot staff a full-time clinic without additional resources.
Staff outlined several possible interim strategies including mobile testing, periodic community-center pop-up clinics, greater use of funded community-based organizations and partnerships with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). The presenters said school-based wellness centers previously run by the health department were effective but had been curtailed by funding and staff shortages; the department estimated the annual cost to operate a school-based wellness center at roughly $400,000 per school.
Council members and staff discussed using broadcast schedules (for example monthly pop-ups) and better targeting of community partners to cover high-need ZIP codes; members offered to assist with outreach and publicizing at-home kit pilots.
