County unveils ‘Bus Test Express’ for COVID testing
Tulare County Health and Human Services launched Bus Test Express for COVID-19 testing in December.
The vehicle is a firstof-its kind, entirely self-sustaining mobile medical testing and treatment system on 45-foot motorcoach equipped with the infrastructure needed to conduct COVID-19 testing, provide vaccinations, and offer other health and wellness services anywhere in the country.
While traditional mobile wellness vehicles require an extensive outlay of upfront capital and production time, Bustest Express uses vehicle leasing and service operations management, making mobile healthcare more accessible to healthcare providers, states, cities, counties, schools, employers, event venues, and sports teams — without placing an administrative burden on public health systems. Mobile units have begun operation in counties throughout Southern, Central and Northern California, including a bus deployed this week to Tulare County and currently operating at the Family Resource Center in Orosi.
“Bustest Express will revolutionize the healthcare industry’s outreach capacity by providing easier access and greater flexibility to healthcare services,” said Donald Storer, Co-founder and President of Bustest Express “These buses are designed for mobility and can go wherever they’re needed to dramatically increase healthcare capacity in both urban centers and rural areas, along with underserved and hard-to-reach populations.
“Our business model plans for rapid growth and deployment in this newly-developed service industry, and we are looking for partners in the motorcoach industry nationwide.”
The design of the bus allows medical staff to deliver self-swab tests to patients through window kiosks — keeping patients and testers separate. All aspects of the motorcoaches are designed to ensure everyone can maintain a safe distance. The bus interiors are customdesigned by lab professionals and include state-of-the art air filtration and sanitation systems, electricity, running water, Wi-fi, storage, restrooms, workstation, and rest areas for on-board healthcare clinicians.
HEPA filters protect medical staff from inhaling harmful particulate matter, which will allow testing to continue even in disaster areas.
Work is currently being done to adapt the bus to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.
“Every client has the ability to work with our team to create custom-developed vehicle and treatment system models that will suit unique healthcare service delivery needs,” said Stoner’s daughter, Sarah Storer, Co-founder and Vice President of Bustest Express . “Mobile clinics and health outreach services are in high demand in our country; however, a full-service vehicle and operations management package —that includes the ability to rent the vehicle — has never been an industry option until now.”
Bustest Express services include site logistics and operations management, vehicle drivers, maintenance, fueling, parking, storage, cleaning, site setup, ADA compliance, dispatch and GPS. For more information visit www.bustestexpress.com.
Current locations include Contra Costa, Fresno, Imperial, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Tulare Counties.
The bus can provide as many as 500 tests per day and can be moved to any location. The bus is now at Orosi’s Family Resource Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Appointments can be made by visiting https://tchhsa.org/eng/ It’s planned for Bustest Express to eventually be able to move to locations all across the county.