LYNN — Lynn Community Health Center has received a $715,000 federal boost for its coronavirus testing capacity, and the facility’s healthcare employees will also receive some financial relief through union-negotiated temporary wage increases.
Distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal grant was awarded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The new grant supplements the $1.228 million stimulus grant the health center received last month through the $2 trillion coronavirus economic relief package that passed through Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump in late March.
“Better late than never,” said U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton in a statement. “This news is long overdue, but it’s good news for everyone. We’ve known since the beginning of this that testing is critical. To have any chance of reopening safely, we need much more testing, and this is a step in that direction.”
Unlike the initial funding, which the health center was able to put toward making up for its loss of revenue and additional expenses it had incurred during the pandemic, the latest grant is specifically earmarked for coronavirus testing, according to LCHC CEO Dr. Kiame Mahaniah.
“We’re not billing people for the tests, the lab that’s running the tests will not be billing patients either,” said Mahaniah. “This funding allows us to deliver on the federal government’s promise that you can get tested and treated for coronavirus illness regardless of insurance.
“Our goal from a public health standpoint is to be able to test about 500 people a day, so that’s what we’re going to do. This funding allows us to consider reaching that goal without figuring out how to charge or bill people. It allows us to focus on delivering that needed service to the city of Lynn.”
Healthcare workers at LCHC are also getting a wage boost through the CARES package.
Healthcare employees from the health center, as part of Service Employees International Union 1199 (1199SEIU), have successfully negotiated increases in hourly pay due to the pandemic.
The pay increases are considered “crisis pay” and will last the duration of the state’s public health emergency.
Pay increases range from an additional $3 to $12 an hour, depending on a worker’s job responsibilities, and apply to 300 workers with a range of job roles, including medical assistants, registered nurses, clerical staff, screeners, and nurse practitioners.
“This is a real victory for frontline caregivers who go above and beyond to deliver high-quality care even as they brush aside fear every day,” said Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “This agreement recognizes their hard work during this unprecedented moment in history.”
Foley said Lynn Community Health Center is using a portion of CARES Act funding and future stimulus packages for enhanced pay.
Lorraine Lozado, a clinical assistant at LCHC, said the pay will ensure that she is “better able to provide for (her) family.
“I am thankful that the quality care my colleagues and I provide to our community is being recognized during this time,” Lozado said. “We are essential in stopping the spread of this virus and caring for our community, so our pay should reflect that.”
The pay increases only apply to “people that are actually providing services to our patients,” according to Kathy Duggan, Lynn Community Health Center chief of human resources, and not executives.
Duggan said the amount of money allocated as “crisis pay” — and which workers are receiving how much extra pay — is being kept confidential for competitive reasons. The pay increases have already gone into effect, Duggan said.
“It’s not wholly unique, but it’s not common,” Duggan said of the successful “crisis pay” negotiations. “We do work well with the union.”
Duggan said LCHC workers have “put the pedal to the metal” during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing any lapse in necessary healthcare services, and ensuring Lynn COVID-19 patients receive sufficient care.
“This pandemic is definitely an emergency,” Duggan said. “All of our people have worked very hard to provide testing for patients who might have COVID-19, provide for people who are sick, continue serving our well patients, and do a tremendous amount of telehealth calls.”
Mahaniah said the extra pay is “recognition of the added dimension of risk and uncertainty” workers are facing while providing in-person care.
“In less than two weeks, employees at every level of the organization pulled together to transform our delivery of care,” Mahaniah said. “We are meeting the challenge of the pandemic crisis, with our staff’s safety our driving imperative, while providing over 5,000 medical, dental, vision, and behavioral health visits weekly.”
Lynn Community Health Center has a testing clinic on its Union Street campus for patients who need to be evaluated by a medical provider, and since last month, the center has also operated an outdoor walk-through clinic, which is available to all Lynn residents. The walk-through clinic is in the Element Care parking lot on Buffum Street, across from the health center.
Throughout the outbreak, the health center has only been able to test its patients and Lynn residents who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. However, it can now test asymptomatic people who have had close contact with city residents or workers who have tested positive for the virus. Mahaniah said the state Department of Public Health (DPH) changed its testing guidelines on Monday.
Mahaniah expects that the new state guidelines will increase the number of people who will seek testing through the health center. Although LCHC has been able to test up to 300 people a day in the past several weeks, its daily demand has only been about half of that.
Increasing testing capacity is important, he said, as half of the people getting tested through the health center are coming back positive. In Lynn, the rate of positive tests is about 36 percent, while the health center’s rate is about 44 percent. In Massachusetts, the average rate is much lower, at 22 percent, Mahaniah said.
Mahaniah said people may not realize that they don’t have to be a patient to be tested and may not know that it won’t cost them anything.
“We also think that maybe a lot of people are scared to come out and go to a healthcare facility,” Mahaniah said. “I think that’s probably the biggest reason we’re not getting enough people to be tested.”
