MERIDIAN, Idaho — The West Ada School District has partnered with Preventative Health Proactive Healthcare Services in Eagle to turn some of the district's office parking spots into a drive-up COVID-19 rapid test site in Meridian.
The ongoing pandemic is making for another challenging year for Idaho’s school districts and the state’s largest school district hopes the service will help kids stay safe and in classrooms.
“We recognized that a lot of students were sick and maybe just had a cold or were suffering from allergies and so they would be getting quarantined, maybe needlessly in some cases if they just have a cold, so this will allow them to test,” said Char Jackson, Chief Communication for WASD. “If someone does test positive, then they would need to go ahead with the quarantine process, but this allows them if they get a negative test to get back into the classroom as soon as they are symptom-free and feeling better," she added.
Preventative Health is administering the Abbott Rapid test which can offer results in as little as 15 minutes. The health team also has the Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR) available and could provide results in 72 hours.
“The testing is free. They do bill your insurance, but if you don’t have insurance available, it is free,” Jackson said.
Students and staff must make an appointment ahead of time by phone or online. The district's testing site is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and also at the Preventative Health Eagle location.
The district would like to remind the community their testing sites are only open to West Ada staff and students.
To scheduled an appointment, call (208) 853-2273.
