Indian Health Camp of New Jersey (IHCNJ) continues to provide support during the current public health crisis via donations and education.
IHCNJ organizes annual fairs at various locations four to five times per year to benefit needy people in the South Asian community, according to information provided by the organization. Due to current pandemic and social distancing recommendations, the IHCNJ may not be able to organize any health fairs this year. By keeping the public health and safety concerns in mind for the last few months, IHCNJ has been doing many activities virtually to include online interviews related to topics such as coronavirus information and education, mental health and other chronic diseases education and awareness as part of their health promotion and disease prevention objectives.
In addition, the organization also donated personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks earlier in March and April when there was severe shortage and scarcity at the local hospitals in New Jersey. The donations were accepted by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset and Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick.
As part of community outreach and efforts for healthier living, IHCNJ also committed to provide free COVID-19 FDA-authorized antibody testing to 1,000 people in collaboration with Hematology & Oncology Care, Helping Hearts Foundation and Durham Pharmacy, according to the statement. The ultimate goal is to identify people with positive antibody to create a list of plasma donors to help people who are critically ill in the hospital to reduce the number of deaths in the state.
Besides antibody testing, IHCNJ, in collaboration with Bayshore Homecare Pharmacy at one of their four HealthMart locations in New Jersey, are providing free COVID-19 antigen testing to detect coronavirus infection without any waiting, according to the statement. For COVID-19 antigen testing, interested people who have symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat or body pains can visit www.doineedacovid19test.comto register for nasal swab testing. For antibody testing, interested individuals can call at 732-913-8500 to make an appointment for a blood test.
For more information about IHCNJ services during the pandemic, call Dr. Tushar Patel at 848-391-0499 or [email protected].