Van provides flexible and responsive healthcare in Philadelphia
CoLab Philadelphia, a remodeled 1960s Airstream trailer, was designed to be responsive to rapidly changing healthcare needs in the city neighborhoods that need it most. Today, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CoLab’s mission is more urgent than ever.
CoLab, a project of Jefferson's Health Design Lab, has been providing mobile testing for COVID-19 for the past week in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Center City. For three years, TD Charitable Foundation (TDCF) has been a lead sponsor for the mobile van.
“The purpose of CoLab, which TD Bank has understood from the beginning, is to offer services that meet community needs in a flexible and responsive way," said Robert S Pugliese, PharmD, BCPS, Director, Health Design Lab. "Over the past three years, those needs have included HIV testing, community art installations, and nutrition education workshops. Right now, the need is COVID-19 testing,"
COVID-19 testing sites, such as CoLab, provide a critical role in helping to control infection and limit symptomatic patients who don’t require emergency care from entering enclosed care spaces such as crowded emergency rooms. Those tested at the van in the Center City section of Philadelphia include Jefferson patients with physician-ordered tests and hospital staff.
“As soon as we saw the need for CoLab to fill a gap, we activated the airstream trailer as a mobile command center at our drive-through testing site in Center City," Robert said. "Our ability to quickly operationalize this site, one of the first in the city, is a testament to the purpose of CoLab.”
TDCF is proud to partner with CoLab.
"Early screening and intervention along with medical advancements are helping people lead healthier lives, however several communities and members within don't have equal access to these services. TDCF and TD saw Jefferson's CoLab as a solution to changing that equation," said Paige Carlson-Heim, Director of TDCF and Office of Charitable and Community Giving.
To learn more about CoLab and its partnership with TD, see the video above from late 2019. For more insight on how TD's values social impact, go to the TD Ready Commitment, which is targeting a total of $1 Billion (CDN) by 2030 towards community giving in four areas critical to building an inclusive future – Better Health, Financial Security, a more Vibrant Planet, and Connected Communities.