Civil Air Patrol Assists With COVID-19 Test Transport

On June 22-23, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) began transporting COVID-19 testing kits to rural, indigent, and underserved, communities in Alabama.

100 Test kits were transported from UAB to Hale County on June 22 utilizing Civil Air Patrol air and ground resources. Testing was conducted in Akron in Hale County. Testing was performed on June 23rd and the completed tests were transported back to UAB Medical Center by CAP.

On Tuesday, July 28 Civil Air Patrol once again assisted with testing transport, this time to Pelham for focused testing in the Hispanic community. According to Justin Johnston, Executive Director of the Community of Hope, “It’s a good thing for us to be able to give back to the Hispanic community in particular because they are such a huge part of our clientele. CAP’s great because CAP’s able to facilitate us being able to get these samples where we need them in a timely fashion so we can make sure we can let our patients know that they didn’t waste their time coming out here.”

This testing is thanks to a partnership between Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrol, Alabama Emergency Management Agency, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), Hale County EMS/EMA, UAB Infectious Disease Laboratory, State of Alabama Department of Health, Community of Hope, and the Sawyerville Project of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

The June testing is only the beginning of COVID-19 testing for rural counties. Logistics are underway to bring kits to several other counties throughout Alabama. Paula Cheatwood, Executive Director of Southeast Alabama AHEC, states

“Our mission is to help the underserved of Alabama so this is offering testing to those who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance.”

Additional testing in Pelham, and testing in Choctaw County are scheduled for test delivery and pickup next week, with more to come.
For more information on AHEC and testing sites, contact https://www.uab.edu/medicine/ahec/

For information on Alabama Wing of Civil Air Patrol, contact Capt Cindy Collette at pa@alwg.us or Lt Col David Hartin at
d.hartin@alwg.us.