(WSIL) -- Rural Health in Christopher is working with Gov. JB Pritzker to expand COVID-19 testing, making all 11 of it's clinics available to anyone in the state.
"We need to know the number of people that have been exposed to the virus, to the number of people that may have contracted the virus in rural areas is because I think we haven't done enough testing in our areas to determine exactly how widespread the virus is," said Christopher Rural Health CEO Kim Mitroaka.
But the clinics still need some assistance, like more PPE and testing supplies.
"Getting the swabs that we need to do the testing. So it's not a matter of the capacity or the ability to be able to test, it's having the right supplies to be able to do so," she said.
In Carbondale, SIU students are also helping the state with testing.
"It's a simple salt solution with a couple antibiotics and antifungals added to it and then we add those to the tubes and then we ship those out," said SIU student Trevor Murphy.
"Despite their best efforts, they still need volunteers to help speed up the process."
"It's a big, big undertaking for just about six of us. And we're looking to add more volunteers. We're uncertain how we're going to officially go about that. We need it approved and we need to make sure everybody is safe," he said.
Both groups say they're dedicated to help eliminate the virus.
"We know that some of our health centers are located in places where there is not a hospital and that there are no other testing facilities that would be able to do this for them so we feel like it's really our job," said Mitroaka.
If you'd like to help with SIU's efforts, e-mail: [email protected].
To help Christopher Rural Health, call: (618) 724-2401.
