Affinity Empowering Enrolls First Schools in Tennessee and Mississippi for No-Cost COVID-19 Tests Through Operation Expanded Testing

ALEXANDRIA, Va., NASHVILLE, Tenn. and JACKSON, Miss., Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinity Empowering, Inc., a leading provider of the most sophisticated and secure occupational, behavioral, and direct-to-consumer health services, today announced that all RePublic Schools in Nashville, Tenn. and Jackson, Miss. have been enrolled in Operation Expanded Testing (OET) and have begun providing no-cost COVID-19 tests to students and teachers. These are among the first schools in Tennessee and the first in Mississippi providing regular COVID-19 testing under OET.

RePublic Schools is a free, open-enrollment network of public charter schools made up of passionate teachers and leaders dedicated to reimagining public education in the South. Founded in 2011, RePublic Schools serve more than 3,300 scholars in six schools across Jackson, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. Through OET, COVID-19 testing is available to all teachers and consenting students.

"We now have data that overwhelmingly suggests that our students are best served, and do their best learning and growing, in the classroom. Last year was challenging for everyone, and we are committed to doing everything we can to maintain in-person learning – including regular COVID-19 testing," said Allison Fomby, Director of Marketing and Communications at RePublic Schools. "Putting our health, and the health of our entire community, first allows us to embody our core value of leading for racial equity."

"In preparation for a safe return to school, we developed a very thorough set of protocols to create a safe learning environment for our scholars, including included air filtration systems, hand sanitizer, masking, and social distancing in each classroom. COVID-19 surveillance testing provides additional safety measures to protect our school and broader communities," said Jon Rybka, CEO of RePublic Schools. "We are grateful that Operation Expanded Testing has been able to provide COVID-19 testing at no cost to our staff and scholars."

"We commend the RePublic Schools for enrolling into Operation Expanded Testing and setting an example for COVID-19 safety in the states of Tennessee and Mississippi. Surveillance COVID-19 testing, especially tests conducted with the gold standard PCR method of detection, is such an important measure to help reduce outbreak risk, keep students in school, and to maintain peace of mind in the community," said Anne Haslerud, Vice President of Recruitment and Enrollment at Affinity Empowering. "Testing through OET is convenient, highly accurate, has a short turnaround time for results, and is a more comfortable experience than other COVID-19 tests – all great reasons for an organization to enroll."

Media Invitation 

In Tennessee: Media representatives are invited to the Liberty Collegiate Academy campus this Wednesday, October 27 between 3:00 – 6:00 p.m., to cover the first school in Tennessee to enroll into OET, the federal COVID-19 testing program, as well as the on-site vaccination event. Students and faculty being tested and receiving COVID-19 vaccines will be available for footage and interviews. Media representatives may enter the school at 3515 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216.

Details are still being finalized for a similar event at RePublic Schools in Jackson, Miss. and will be issued as a media advisory upon further notice.

Advantages of Operation Expanded Testing

Affinity Empowering offers the OET program on behalf of Eurofins Clinical. Affinity and Eurofins use PCR testing, the gold standard for accurate detection of COVID-19. The PCR test used in OET has 100% sensitivity and specificity, meaning that there are no false positives or false negatives. It also has the lowest limit of detection for any authorized COVID-19 test, enabling detection of COVID-19 at its earliest stages when viral load is low.

While testing, individuals submit two samples - collected from the tip of the nose for minimal invasiveness. One sample from each individual is pooled together to expedite sample analysis. If a pool shows a positive result, the individual secondary samples from that pool are immediately analyzed. This scheme avoids the need for sample recollection and lowers the overall turnaround time for results. Through its proprietary Assure integrated technology platform, Affinity delivers COVID-19 test results with an average turnaround time of 24 hours.

About Operation Expanded Testing 

Operation Expanded Testing (OET) is a federally funded program to provide no-cost, "click and go" COVID-19 surveillance testing to congregate settings, including K-12 schools, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and select, nonprofit community centers through July 2022. COVID-19 surveillance testing is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the safe reopening of schools.

Affinity and Eurofins are coordinating OET program implementation to these institutions in 26 Northeastern and Southern states and additional territories, in agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Unlike other federal programs to fund COVID-19 testing, OET has no upfront costs nor paperwork. Interested eligible parties can simply visit Affinity's OET website and click the "Enroll Today" button and provide some basic information. Affinity will then provide the resources and training necessary to establish a COVID-19 testing program at your institution. For questions or additional information, visit the website or contact Affinity's 24/7 customer service staff directly (email: [email protected], phone: 1-844-631-0469). 

About Affinity Empowering

Affinity Empowering is a leading occupational health, population, and disease management life sciences organization that specializes in providing technology-based solutions and support for overall health and wellness endeavors. In addition to providing occupational health, mental health, and cutting edge, wrap around substance use support, the company also has become a major provider of COVID-19 testing. Its Return to Normalcy program provides COVID-19 consultation, support, and conducts thousands of onsite and at home testing options to safely screen, monitor, and test populations. It currently supports numerous business partners in various fields, ranging from government contracts, universities, top Fortune 100 companies, and major film and television production companies. 

For more information, please visit https://www.affinitytesting.com

Media Contacts

David Melamed
Russo Partners, LLC
(212) 845-4225
[email protected]

Allison Fomby
RePublic Schools
(601) 291-8991
[email protected]

SOURCE Affinity Empowering, Inc.