Nebraska: STD Testing Clinic in North Omaha Closing

On July 1, the Douglas County Health Department's STD clinic in North Omaha will close, and services will be consolidated in midtown at the County Health Center on Woolworth Avenue. The closing of the north Omaha facility, located at 5050 Ames Ave. near 50th Street, will save the county money and allow the agency to offer more consistent and longer hours of testing and treatment, said Dr. Adi Pour, DCHD's director.

Some part-time and temporary staff members will be laid off in the consolidation, Pour said. The Ames Avenue clinic has hours mostly from the afternoon to evening, while the Woolworth site is open on Mondays and for an hour and a half on Saturday mornings. The county charges $15 for testing, though it turns no one away who cannot pay the fee. Consolidated hours at the midtown clinic, 4102 Woolworth Ave. at 40th Street, have not been determined, but will amount to more than what has been offered between the two sites, said Pour.

The CEO of the Charles Drew Health Center in north Omaha, Richard Brown, said he is not concerned about the county's decision. It is a good move for the county to expand hours, he added. "In the middle of an epidemic, they should be open more hours."

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