Health Department Handing Out $75 For Your Urine in Poughkeepsie

The State of New York wants to pay you for a sample of your urine. And yes, you read that right.

The New York State Department of Health is running part of its Biomonitoring NY program in Poughkeepsie, NY. Officials are asking adults aged twenty and older to take part in a health survey. After filling out a short form with questions about your life, your diet, where you live, and where you work, you'll be asked to provide a urine sample and a small blood sample. In exchange for your bodily fluids, New York officials will hand you a $75 gift card on the spot.

It’s part of a statewide health study meant to measure how everyday chemicals show up in people’s bodies. The Department of Health wants to get a picture of how much exposure New Yorkers have to things like pesticides, metals and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS.

How to Get $75 in Exchange for Bodily Fluids

Officials will be in Poughkeepsie, New York this Monday. Be prepared to answer questions about your contact with water, your job history, if you garden, what household products you use and more. After a short questionnaire, they'll take a small blood sample and a urine sample. You'll get the $75 gift card that day and once the health lab processes the results, you’ll get a private letter telling you what levels of chemicals, if any, were found.

The data collected helps health officials understand what chemicals people in New York are exposed to over time. That can help guide environmental policies and cleanup efforts, and it contributes to broader research on how chemicals in the environment might affect human health.

Ellenville and Poughkeepsie Both on the Radar

The Poughkeepsie walk-in event is happening at the Family Partnership Center, 29 North Hamilton Street on Monday, February 2 from 9am to 3pm. You can find more details about the collection drive on the Department of Health's website.

Future events will be held at other communities targeted for testing, including Syracuse, Rochester, Albany and Ellenville, as well as rural areas in Montgomery and St. Lawrence Counties.