Governor Cuomo Partners With Doctors From SOMOS Community Care To Expand COVID-19 & Antibody Testing At Faith-Based Churches In Hard-Hit Latino Communities

NEW YORK, May 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, Governor Cuomo and SOMOS, a network of over 2,500 doctors serving nearly 800,000 largely immigrant New Yorkers, announced that they are partnering with churches and community sites across New York City and the surrounding area to expand COVID-19 and antibody testing to Latino communities that have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. The testing sites, operated by SOMOS physicians, are located in predominantly Latino communities in Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Yonkers and Long island.

SOMOS has been running trilingual testing sites since March and has already tested over 50,000 New Yorkers.

"Latino communities are suffering immensely during this crisis, and we have seen our worst fears come true," said Dr. Ramon Tallaj, Chairman and Founder of SOMOS. "We are grateful to Governor Cuomo for stepping up to address the needs of Latino New Yorkers and establish testing in the heart of our communities: our churches. We must continue to expand access to testing and information if we are going to effectively stop the spread of this virus and restore our communities, the vibrant, heartbeat of our city."

All of the sites are staffed by culturally competent family and community doctors who speak the same language as their patients and are capable of addressing cultural barriers to health care access that affect immigrant and undocumented New Yorkers.

In addition to testing, people will also be able to pick up free meals and pantry essentials from the sites. Operations will vary from 9 AM-1 PM or 10 AM-2 PM. New Yorkers can call 833-SOMOS-NY to make an appointment at any of the following locations:

• Brigid - St. Emeric (119 Avenue B, Lower East Side, Manhattan)
• Excelsior 2 (94 Bowery, Lower East Side, Manhattan)
• Luisa Perez (145 West 96th Street, Suite C, Upper West Side, Manhattan)
• Shining Light Family Health (1030 Sheridan Avenue, The Bronx)
• Urgent Medical Care (578 Fordham Road, The Bronx)
• St. Nicholas of Tolentine (2345 University Avenue, The Bronx)
• Blessed Sacrament (198 Euclid Avenue, Brooklyn)
• Excelsior (4266 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, Queens)
• Our Lady of Sorrows (104-11 37 Avenue, Corona, Queens)
• Centro Medico Latino (37-11 88th Street, Jackson Heights, Queens)
• International Pediatric Plus (93-20 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights, Queens)
• St. Sebastian Church (58-02 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside, Queens)
• Delmont & Herrera (55 North Main Street, Freeport)
• Simela Medical Arts PC (680 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead)
• Delmont & Herrera 2 (1624 Central Avenue, Far Rockaway, Queens)
• United Revival Mennonite Church (390 Melrose St, Bushwick, Brooklyn)
• Francisco Rosario (19 Hamilton Place, #1, Washington Heights, Manhattan)
• St. Elizabeth (268 Wadsworth Avenue, Washington Heights, Manhattan)
• St. Jude (439 West 204^th, Washington Heights, Manhattan)
• Our Lady Queen of Martyrs (81 Arden Street, Washington Heights, Manhattan)
• Holy Spirit (1940 University Avenue, The Bronx)
• St. Luke (623 East 138th Street, The Bronx)
• Webster Family Medical (1150 Webster Avenue, The Bronx)
• St. Anthony of Padua (832 East 166th Street, The Bronx)
• Excelsior 1 (757 60th Street, Sunset Park, Brooklyn)
• St Peter and St. Denis Church (91 Ludlow Street, Yonkers)
• St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church & Senior Citizen Center (331 Hawthorne Street, Prospect-Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn)

SOMOS has also led a widespread effort to ensure New Yorkers have a hot meal and one less thing to worry about in this crisis. SOMOS operates 15 food distribution centers across the City – in partnership with World Central Kitchen and Maestro Cares Foundation – providing a total of over 12,000 meals per day to meet the incredible need of New Yorkers. In addition to fresh grab-and-go meals, SOMOS distributes fresh produce from local farmers markets and essential kitchen supplies, and delivers meals to the homebound.

About SOMOS:
SOMOS is a non-profit, physician-led network of over 2,500 health care providers serving over 700,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in New York City. Launched in 2015 by its Chairman Dr. Ramon Tallaj, SOMOS is the largest and only physician-led performance provider system participating in the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program (DSRIP). The SOMOS network includes providers delivering culturally competent care to patients in some of New York City's most vulnerable populations, particularly Latino, Asian, African-American and immigrant communities throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

SOURCE SOMOS Community Care