During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, SeraCollection Research Services in Montebello redirected its research to focus on COVID-19 and used its resources to help mitigate the pandemic and serve underserved communities.
“Immediately when the pandemic started, we had to do something,” said Monica Lopez, CEO/president and founder of SeraCollection. “We knew that we had to go into the community, especially the most vulnerable, which are children, elders and homeless communities.”
As the COVID state of emergency has ended and restrictions continue to be lifted, this Montebello-based company has not stopped its work with the community.
SeraCollection continues to provide daily COVID-19 services throughout Los Angeles County but is now offering a healthcare program for those experiencing homelessness and will soon bring on new mental health services to help address the current homelessness crisis.
Founded in 2004 by Lopez, SeraCollection Research Services primarily operates as an integrated clinical research organization that provides research for pharmaceutical and biotech development companies.
During the pandemic, it became more than just a testing and sample collection company and wants to continue being a resource to communities in Montebello and Los Angeles County.
SeraCollection services are available in mobile, pop-up, drive-through and on-site models. Their mobile clinics have made it possible for company health care workers to travel to anyone in need, making it easier to help those in homeless communities.
The mobile clinics go out every day and visit five to nine homeless sites per day, according to Manuel Cortez, director of business operations at SeraCollection.
On average, SeraCollection vaccinates 800 people per month and tests about 2,000 people, Cortez added.
The mobile clinics are equipped with different types of vaccines, which include the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations for ages 6 months and older, Novavax COVID-19 vaccination for 12 years and older, and Bivalent boosters. They also administer monkeypox and flu vaccines.
The company provides all these services for free when setting up at temporary or intermediate housing locations, such as Heart of Compassion Montebello Food Bank, Skid Row Refresh Spot and homeless encampments.
SeraCollection is also working with the Department of Public Health Services People Experiencing Homelessness as their exclusive mobile vaccination provider for outbreaks at homeless sites, Lopez said.
The company also provides treatments for COVID out in the field – Paxlovid and Molnupiravir are oral antiviral pills that stop the COVID-19 virus from making copies of itself in the body and avoid disease progression and hospitalization, according to Cortez.
“When they test positive for COVID, instead of telling them to just isolate, we also see if they qualify for this medication,” Cortez said.
The healthcare workers on the field see if the patients have any health risks, such as renal disease and liver disease, which could have an impact on the medication. “We really try to encourage folks to obtain the treatment and it’s free,” he said.
In partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, SeraCollection distributes gift cards to those who receive their COVID-19 vaccines which gives people an incentive to show up and tell others about it in nearby homeless communities, the company’s health care workers said.
These temporary house locations encourage their residents to be up to date with their vaccines, SeraCollection uses its services to help people meet those requirements. And when new people arrive, the company returns to those locations and provides free services, Cortez said.
People experiencing homelessness are able to walk up on-site at the mobile clinics and get what they need. Soon, SeraCollection will be able to provide mental health services as well.
“As COVID is winding down a little, we want to be part of the mobilized homeless mental health medic services,” Lopez said. She hopes to partner with the mayor of Montebello, and with the city and county of Los Angeles to provide these services wherever needed.
“We feel that we’ve already proven the concept and we made it work,” she said about the work already done by the company with homeless communities, “and we know that we can go out there and help.”
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported in 2020 that about 25% of all homeless adults in Los Angeles County suffer from severe mental illnesses such as a psychotic disorders and schizophrenia. A 2022 study by the RAND Institute found that 54% of unhoused Angelenos reported having a mental health condition.
“We feel that providing mental health services will provide a transition to additional health care, as well as housing services because until we can address their mental health needs, they’re not going to move from A to B,” Cortez said, “they’re more likely to stay in their current situation.”
The mental health services will include having a professional therapist or telehealth option on the mobile clinic teams when going out to sites, providing resources, and more.
SeraCollection continues to work on its core business of research, such as live virus samples collection and clinical trials for babies and adolescents for Moderna, Cortez said. Its COVID treatment center in Montebello, at 1300 W. Beverly Blvd, is also open to the community to make appointments or walk in to get vaccines, testing or treatment.
SeraCollection also wants to continue tackling the needs of unhoused folks, which include mental health issues.
“It’s another crisis that we have to tackle and affects our community,” Lopez said. “We want to be out there to help.”
For more information about services, call 888-788-3994 or visit seracollection.com.
