Privately Funded COVID-19 Testing Centers Step In To Assist Government
Boca Raton, FL – As the uncertainty around COVID-19 continues, privately funded testing centers are needed to increase the number of tests administrated.
An example of a new COVID-19 drive-thru testing center has opened at the 951 NW 13th Street parking lot in Boca Raton, FL. Testing started on April 13 with local physicians and volunteers administering the tests.
Josh Schuster, Managing Principal of Silverback Development (a New York City-based real estate owner, developer, and investor) purchased 1,000 COVID-19 test kits available at the site and has provided funding for the testing center. The CDC approved tests, which are currently used at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital, were purchased from LabCorp.
Silverback Development is working in coordination with medical professionals from Boca Raton Regional Hospital, the FAU Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Bicol Clinic Foundation.
Bicol Clinic Foundation is a non-profit organization created by Silverback Development’s Managing Principal Josh Schuster and his father, Mitchell Schuster MD. Founded in 2005, the organization has treated over 58,000 patients through four non-profit medical clinics built by the family in Haiti, the Philippines, and Nepal. The organization’s overarching mission is twofold: the deployment of medical professionals to regions throughout the world to support victims of natural disasters (as was the case when Bicol dispatched a team to the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian); and to provide treatment via permanent clinics to impoverished patients in need of medical care they otherwise could not afford.
The testing is being performed via nasal swab and participants should receive results within 48-72 hours. All costs will be covered for those without health insurance.
Speaking to Bicol’s most recent initiative, Josh Schuster commented, “Silverback has always had a philanthropic interest when it comes to providing low or no-cost medical care to communities in need. We see ourselves as members of the communities in which we do business and view it as our responsibility to contribute to local communities and the broader health care system where possible.”
