ALBANY – The State Health Department has decided to extend its blood testing of Newburgh residents through the end of December. It was originally going to end on October 31, but a day after City Manager Michael Ciaravino wrote to Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, the agency announced it would extend the free program through December 31.
Newburgh area residents may have their blood tested at no charge to determine if they have been impacted by the presence of the chemical PFOS that is in the city’s Washington Lake reservoir.
The reservoir has been offline for about a year-and-a-half with city
residents now connected to the New York City Catskill Aqueduct. The costly
price tag for that is being picked up by the state.
To date, 3,275 people in the Newburgh area have been tested. Residents who want to participate in the blood testing program can do so by calling 800-801-8092 to request a laboratory order. Once residents receive their lab order, they can take it to one of the participating community sites to have their blood drawn.
The sites are at ST. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital Newburgh campus, 70 Dubois Street in Newburgh; Quest Diagnostics, 347 Fullerton Avenue in Newburgh; Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, 5 Hudson Valley Professional Plaza in Newburgh; and BioReference Laboratories, 147 Lake Street in Newburgh.
