COVID-19 Community Center in Kobler now open

Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. public information officer Guillermo Lifoifoi walks the CNMI’s media partners through a room at the COVID-19 Community Center that will serve as an “information station” and “education station.” (JOSHUA SANTOS)

A new COVID-19 Community Center that is intended to be a hub for all COVID-19 matters was opened yesterday at the Koblerville Youth Center. The center is open seven days a week, including holidays, from 8am to 4pm.

As explained during yesterday’s opening, the COVID-19 Community Center is where individuals can get confirmatory testing done, obtain their COVID-19 results, get assessed for monoclonal antibody treatment, and obtain guidance on all things related to CVID-19.

Karen Buettner, who is a Federal Emergency Management Agency employee and a nurse, said that she has so far provided support to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. where needed, administering monoclonal antibody treatment and aiding CHCC with its vaccination operations. Now she is conducting assessments at the center.

Buettner explained that she will be assessing COVID-positive individuals if they are eligible to receive monoclonal antibody treatment. If qualified, Buettner said she and the center can make direct referrals to CHCC’s Alternate Care Site at Kanoa Resort Saipan.

Buettner said the center is a big plus, as it redirects pressure away from the hospital while still ensuring that those who need help receive it.

“It’s great that we can capture the positive cases and be able to direct them to their next line of care, and the monoclonal antibodies are to also help reduce any pressure on the [emergency room] and on the [hospital’s intensive care unit],” she said.

Also present at the site is community disease investigation inspector III Dwayne Davis, explaining yesterday how COVID-19 tests are processed at the center and next steps for individuals after getting their test results.

Davis said that an area of the center is dedicated to the handling and processing of COVID-19 tests and that test results come out within 15 minutes. The test results are then passed over to members of CHCC’s contact tracing team, who are also at the center.

Individuals will then receive educational materials from the contact tracing team. If you test negative, Davis said that you will be directed to a part of the center where you can pick up proof of a negative test result. If you test positive, you will receive material on the next steps.

CHCC public information officer Guillermo Lifoifoi walked the CNMI’s media partners through a room at the center that will be used as an “information station” and “education station,” where those with questions and concerns about quarantining and what to do if you were a close contact to a COVID-positive person can learn more about next steps.

Lifoifoi said the area is also being set up to be a place to pick up printouts of COVID-19 test results, and CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña added that COVID-positive individuals will not be allowed to enter this area of the center.

In an interview at the end of the tour, Muña said the center is meant to augment, and not replace, any ongoing efforts. She added that the COVID-19 tests conducted at the center are for confirmatory purposes, and CHCC still asks individuals to get tested through community-based testing and/or through the Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services’ antigen testing.

Muña said the Emergency Room at CHCC’s hospital of late had been receiving many individuals who were seeking further information and wanting a confirmatory COVID-19 test to ensure that they can return to work. The center fulfills these needs, but Muña again emphasizes that individuals should get tested through DFEMS or CBT.

“This is really just confirmatory. We still want you to use DFEMS, we want you to use the CBT, but this is a place where you can get information rather than waiting at home [and] trying to decide what to do. This is a place where you can…come up and get information from us so that we can provide it for you,” she said.