SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (April 8, 2021) – St. Paul’s Senior Services, in partnership with Secure Transportation, has loaned a passenger van to San Diego State University (SDSU) to be used for their program Communities Fighting COVID! The van will be used in the community to test hard-to-reach populations for COVID-19.

The Communities Fighting COVID! project is a community-partnered endeavor that aims to reach the county’s at-risk populations through Community Health Worker-led rapid COVID-19 testing. These COVID-19 tests are free to the public and are available on a walk-up basis.

As an organization that serves San Diego’s most vulnerable population, St. Paul’s Senior Services is thankful for programs like Communities Fighting COVID! and is proud to partner in this way. This collaboration originated thanks to St. Paul’s Foundation Board Chair Philip Greiner, who is the Director of SDSU’s School of Nursing. Greiner expressed the projects need for a van, which St. Paul’s was able to quickly support thanks to the transportation partner, Secure Transportation.

To display this collaboration, St. Paul’s outfitted the passenger van with logos representing SDSU, the Communities Fighting COVID! program, and St. Paul’s Senior Services.

“Having access to this vehicle from St. Paul’s Senior Services will allow us to truly ‘take our show on the road,’ providing testing services to communities that would otherwise not be served,” said Susan Kiene, PhD, a principal investigator with the project. “We look forward to setting up mobile testing in public spaces, such as parks, transit areas, and workplaces. Having this flexibility will truly benefit San Diego County’s hardest-hit communities.”

In the United States and in San Diego County, there are still clear disparities in who is affected by COVID-19. In San Diego County, for example, Latino/Latina residents have accounted for 55% of cases, despite making up less than 35% of the population. San Diego’s African American, Filipino, and Arabic speaking populations are also disproportionally impacted. The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities, with underserved communities also dealing with food insecurity, loss of income, and other stressors.

About St. Paul’s Senior Services
St. Paul’s Senior Services is a mission-driven San Diego non-profit and full-service senior care provider, offering Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing, a Child Care and Senior Day Care Program, and a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Since opening its doors in 1960, St. Paul’s serves as an innovator in the San Diego community with a reputation for exceptional care. For more information on St. Paul’s Senior Services, please visit www.StPaulsSeniors.org or call 1(619) 239-6900.