SCRANTON, Pa. — Getting a COVID-19 test can be a challenge for some of the people most at risk of catching the virus.
So, healthcare workers in Lackawanna County are bringing testing directly to patients living in senior housing.
More than 100 seniors live at Amos Towers on Jefferson Avenue.
All of them considered high-risk for COVID-19, but many of them don't have an easy way to get tested for the virus.
So, the testing came to them.
"This has been the most wonderful morning in a long time, I know we're out there, and we're worried about everybody, our lives, everything. And here, people that I would consider heroes have come to our aid," said resident Mary Ann Beckage.
Lackawanna County's Area Agency on Aging arranged the mobile testing clinic using health care workers from The Wright Center along with the center's new mobile lab called Driving Better Health.
Amos Towers is just the first of what will be several stops at senior housing facilities across Lackawanna County.
"I think it's important for everybody to get tested because you can be COVID positive, and I don't feel sick. My brother and my sister-in-law up in the Poconos both had it, and they were just sick as dogs," added Mary Naughton, who received a free test Wednesday.
The residents were looking for confirmation that they are healthy, something that's especially valuable these days.
"It makes you feel good because it gives us an opportunity to look ahead and to feel a lot lighter about the things in life," Beckage added.
It's testing now, but eventually, it will be the vaccine.
The Wright Center told Newswatch 16 the mobile testing clinic is like a practice run for when they're able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents.