Homeless shelters say they need more testing
Staff lack adequate supplies amid surge as state reduces funding
Homeless shelters in Connecticut lack adequate COVID-19 testing amid a statewide surge in infections, shelter staff say, due to the downscaling of state-funded testing in congregate settings.
Earlier in the pandemic, the state contracted with a wide range of providers, including numerous federally qualified health centers, to provide regular testing in places like shelters, migrant farms and elderly housing. That changed at the end of June, when the state changed its testing strategy and, according to health center administrators, cut back on the number of providers it partnered with.
As cases have risen again, however, directors at homeless shelters say the lack of regular testing leaves their residents at risk.
“Our area of Connecticut is now a ‘red zone,’ and as a congregate shelter with a lot of people, people coming in and out, vulnerable people, immunocompromised people, we want to do everything we can to keep people safe,” said Cathy Zall, executive director of New London Homeless Hospitality Center. “Testing doesn’t solve every single problem, but it allows you to keep a much closer eye and identify people who are not symptomatic but are positive and could be spreading it to other people.”
Shelter staff say their facilities are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the density of people living there, the frequency with which the population turns over and the sometimes-low rates of vaccination there.
Jerome Roberts, executive director of the Pacific House shelter in Danbury, said regular testing is vital in stopping the spread of COVID-19 within tightly packed facilities. People who test positive can be quickly isolated before they transmit the disease to people around them.
“With the resurgence of COVID, especially with this variant running rampant, it becomes hard to operate successfully if people do not have access to testing,” Roberts said. “Testing has been used to help us with identifying people who may have turned out to be Covid-positive, to help reduce the spread of COVID through testing, being able to identify and separate them from the population.”
Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of public health, said last week that the state has ample testing capacity and that any homeless shelter or other congre
gate setting in need of testing should contact the Department of Public Health. She noted that Connecticut has more than 300 COVID19 testing sites open to the public with more expected to open soon and that the state ranks among the national leaders in testing per capita.
In a statement, DPH said it continues to provide testing to homeless shelters and other congregate settings as needed.
“We have been working with homeless shelters throughout our vaccination program to ensure that the people they serve have easy access to vaccination,” the agency said. “Since it is not recommended that fully vaccinated individuals receive routine surveillance testing, we anticipate the testing needs at homeless shelters to be lower than they have been in the past.”
But Kasey Harding, director of the Center for Key Populations at Community Health Center, Inc., said the shelters need the regular testing they were receiving earlier in the pandemic. CHC provided regular testing in various congregate settings, including homeless shelters, but stopped at the end of June after the state cut the reimbursement rate it was offering to providers.
“We were doing weekly testing [at some shelters], and without that they have no way to know if someone is positive and to quarantine them and isolate them,” Harding-wheeler said. “We’re concerned it’s going to lead to more COVID.”
After conducting more COVID-19 tests per capita than nearly any other state through the bulk of the pandemic, Connecticut scaled back its testing operation this spring amid a sharp drop in cases. That meant not only the closure of large mega-sites but also less surveillance testing in nursing homes, homeless shelters and other congregate settings. Between April and June, the state went from reporting more than 200,000 tests a week to about 80,000 a week.
As the delta variant has surged through Connecticut and cases have spiked, testing has rebounded somewhat — to about 120,000 tests per week — but not nearly to the levels seen earlier this year.
Some shelters and other congregate settings continue to provide for regular COVID-19 testing. The Open Hearth in Hartford, for example, offers testing for all new arrivals and partners with Hartford Healthcare on monthly testing for every resident.
But other shelters are not as fortunate. They may seek testing for a resident with significant symptoms but can’t provide it on a regular basis.
“We don’t have the funding to go to Physicianone or something and pay for that testing,” said Zall, from New London Homeless Hospitality Center. “The key thing is to get that flow of funding going again.”
Harding-wheeler said she hopes the state will return to fully funding COVID-19 testing, allowing CHC to resume its testing operation alongside its vaccine distribution efforts.
“I do understand weekly testing is a big burden,” Harding-wheeler said. “Except when you’re talking about a place where 80 people live, it kind of makes sense.”