{"id":2457299,"date":"2020-04-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324478"},"modified":"2020-04-17T07:10:22","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T13:10:22","slug":"collaborative-effort-reaches-out-to-the-ill-in-el-jebel-with-free-covid-19-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/collaborative-effort-reaches-out-to-the-ill-in-el-jebel-with-free-covid-19-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaborative effort reaches out to the ill in El Jebel with free COVID-19 tests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nurse Practitioner Lisa Robbiano, left, talks to Fabiola Grajales, 27, while checking her lungs and heart rate in Robbiano\u2019s car next to the MIRA COVID-19 testing bus in El Jebel on Thursday, April 16, 2020. This was Grajales\u2019s fourth COVID-19 test. She was confirmed positive during the three prior tests and was positive for pneumonia. She first got sick on March 2nd with flu-like symptoms and had been on three different antibiotics since. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine how it is for people who don\u2019t have insurance, who don\u2019t speak the language, and who don\u2019t have any knowledge of how the medical system works,\u201d said Grajales about her experience with COVID-19 testing. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong>
Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Wet snow and cold temperatures didn\u2019t deter numerous midvalley residents from jumping at the opportunity Thursday to take free tests to see if COVID-19 is what ails them.<\/p>\n

By noon, about 20 people had shown up at an open-sided tent erected in the parking lot of the El Jebel Laundromat for nose swabs. Most patients were screened in advance and recommended for the tests because they have symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. However, other people walked up seeking tests and were accommodated if they were sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are encouraging people who are sick to get the tests,\u201d said Melina Valsecia, who helped coordinate the testing. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people who are healthy to be out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Registered nurse Maria McHale and nurse practitioner Lisa Robbiano from MidValley Family Practice in Basalt stood out in the cold for hours, talking to each patient about their symptoms and sticking the swabs far up their noses for samples. Test results are expected within five days.<\/p>\n

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