After a year of asymptomatic Covid-19 testing at the regional high school, TestMV is set to move its operation to the parking lot of the West Tisbury School on Monday, June 21, with free testing available weekday mornings through the summer months.

All appointments scheduled prior to July will be honored at the new West Tisbury site, according to a press release announcing the move.

The site’s hours of operation, which run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3:30 on week days, will be the same until July 1, when they will switch to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. schedule, according to spokesman Mary Breslauer.

Ms. Breslauer said the move was largely due to the possible reopening of the high school Performing Arts Center. The test site currently uses the PAC lobby for staging, with all tests conducted in the performing arts parking lot.

Opened to the public on June 1, 2020 at the onset of summer, TestMV has provided nearly 40,000 free tests at the high school site and identified hundreds of asymptomatic Covid-19 patients over the past year.

The site was founded at the height of the pandemic through a unique public-private partnership between Island Health Care, Quest Diagnostics and the Island boards of health. It began with  a backyard conversation between Edgartown selectman Michael Donaroma and Quest Diagnostics CEO and seasonal Vineyard resident Steve Rusckowski.

Both Mr. Rusckowski and his wife Deb Rusckowski, a registered nurse, have volunteered at the site in the year since, along with 116 other retired nurses, doctors, EMTs, high school and college students, as well as seasonal and year-round residents.

In the release, Tisbury health agent Maura Valley said the creation of the site during the pandemic’s early days was crucial in the Island’s fight against the virus, and that its continued operation was a welcome resource.

“Testing coupled with a very localized contact tracing system have been essential in keeping Covid-19 in check, particularly in those many months before vaccines became widely available,” Ms. Valley said. “It enabled us to identify and isolate clusters and prevent community spread. Testing remains a valuable tool in our arsenal against this virus.”

According to the press release, the site has a staff of 12 and has received more than 400 hours of help from the Island health agents.

Island Health Care CEO Cynthia Mitchell thanked Vineyard schools superintendent Matt D’Andrea for offering the West Tisbury School parking lot as an alternate location, especially as summer is expected to bring larger numbers of visitors and residents to the Island.

“What could have been a scramble at the start of summer has become a seamless transition,” Ms. Mitchell said.

Reached by phone, Ms. Breslauer said that the set-up process would occur over the weekend, mainly with the transfer of equipment.

“We’re just going to move the tents,” Ms. Breslauer said. “That’s most of it.”