ALEXANDRIA, Va. and MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinity Empowering, Inc., a leading provider of the most sophisticated and secure occupational, behavioral, and direct-to-consumer health services, today announced that the Promise Academy in Memphis has been enrolled in Operation Expanded Testing (OET) and has begun providing no-cost COVID-19 tests to its students and faculty, marking the first school enrolled in OET in the state of Tennessee.

Through OET, Promise Academy is providing weekly testing for approximately 250 students and 60 staff/faculty as a central component to its COVID-19 safety strategy, which is designed to maintain in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year. Promise Academy is a pre-K through 5^th grade school with the mission to teach and inspire the mind, body, and spirit of its children so they can succeed in any academic or cultural setting.

"From the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 testing has been a central component to our strategy to keep children in the classroom. The key difference with Operation Expanded Testing is the level of control that we have over the entire testing process. We have the flexibility to test as needed, the capacity to test internally, and can oversee the results to respond quickly in the case of a positive test," said Dr. Patrick Washington, Principal of Promise Academy at Spring Hill. "Our goal is to keep our community safe. Operation Expanded Testing has helped us achieve that goal."

"We commend Promise Academy for enrolling into Operation Expanded Testing and setting an example for COVID-19 safety in the state of Tennessee. Surveillance COVID-19 testing, especially tests conducted with the gold standard PCR method of detection, is such an important measure to help reduce outbreak risk, keep kids in school, and maintain peace of mind in the community," said Anne Haslerud, Vice President of Recruitment and Enrollment at Affinity Empowering. "Testing through OET is convenient, highly accurate, has a short turnaround time for results, and is a more comfortable experience than other COVID-19 tests – all great reasons for an organization to enroll."

Media Invitation 

Media representatives are invited to Promise Academy at Spring Hill Thursday, October 21 to cover the enrollment of the first schools in Tennessee into OET, the federal COVID-19 testing program. Testing will occur between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for students and faculty. Media representatives may enter the school at 3796 Frayser-Raleigh Road, Memphis, TN 38128. Promise Academy faculty and students being tested for COVID-19 under OET will be available for interviews and news footage.

Advantages of Operation Expanded Testing

Affinity Empowering offers the OET program on behalf of Eurofins Clinical. Affinity and Eurofins use PCR testing, the gold standard for accurate detection of COVID-19. The PCR test used in OET has 100% sensitivity and specificity, meaning that there are no false positives or false negatives. It also has the lowest limit of detection for any authorized COVID-19 test, enabling detection of COVID-19 at its earliest stages when viral load is low.

While testing, individuals submit two samples - collected from the tip of the nose for minimal invasiveness. One sample from each individual is pooled together to expedite sample analysis. If a pool shows a positive result, the individual secondary samples from that pool are immediately analyzed. This scheme avoids the need for sample recollection and lowers the overall turnaround time for results. Through its proprietary Assure integrated technology platform, Affinity delivers COVID-19 test results with an average turnaround time of 24 hours.

About Operation Expanded Testing 

Operation Expanded Testing (OET) is a federally funded program to provide no-cost, "click and go" COVID-19 surveillance testing to congregate settings, including K-12 schools, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and select, nonprofit community centers through July 2022. COVID-19 surveillance testing is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the safe reopening of schools.

Affinity and Eurofins are coordinating OET program implementation to these institutions in 26 Northeastern and Southern states and additional territories, in agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

Unlike other federal programs to fund COVID-19 testing, OET has no upfront costs nor paperwork. Interested eligible parties can simply visit Affinity's OET website and click the "Enroll Today" button and provide some basic information. Affinity will then provide the resources and training necessary to establish a COVID-19 testing program at your institution. For questions or additional information, visit the website or contact Affinity's 24/7 customer service staff directly (email: [email protected], phone: 1-844-631-0469). 

About Affinity Empowering 

Affinity Empowering is a leading occupational health, population, and disease management life sciences organization that specializes in providing technology-based solutions and support for overall health and wellness endeavors. In addition to providing occupational health, mental health, and cutting edge, wrap around substance use support, the company also has become a major provider of COVID-19 testing. Its Return to Normalcy program provides COVID-19 consultation, support, and conducts thousands of onsite and at home testing options to safely screen, monitor, and test populations. It currently supports numerous business partners in various fields, ranging from government contracts, universities, top Fortune 100 companies, and major film and television production companies. 

For more information, please visit https://www.affinitytesting.com

Media Contacts

Dr. Patrick Washington
Promise Academy - Spring Hill
School Principal
[email protected]

David Melamed
Russo Partners, LLC
(212) 845-4225
[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/affinity-empowering-enrolls-first-schools-in-tennessee-for-no-cost-covid-19-tests-through-operation-expanded-testing-301403539.html

SOURCE Affinity Empowering, Inc.