2 state firms begin drive-thru testing

Efforts add to list of screening sites

Two Arkansas companies this week began offering drive-thru testing for the coronavirus at sites around the state.

Sniffle Health, which offers online checkups, and Little Rock’s Natural State Laboratories began offering the tests Tuesday at New Life Church at 8000 Crystal Hill Road in North Little Rock and Wednesday at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

Additional sites being added are listed at arcovid19.com.

Natural State chief executive Steve Harrison said his company has paid in advance to have 30,000 tests conducted at a laboratory in California where specimens are being sent. The company collected 100 specimens at the two sites Wednesday, he said.

Patients who don’t have doctor’s referrals are screened by a provider on-site or through telemedicine by an Arkansas physician or nurse practitioner. When appropriate, personnel on site collect a sample from the patient that is then sent to a laboratory for testing.

People are asked to provide their identification and insurance cards but won’t be charged out of pocket for the test.

“We really appreciate the efforts of Gov. [Asa] Hutchinson and the Health Department, and we’re trying to partner with them in any way that we can to try to alleviate this crisis from the private sector standpoint,” Harrison said.

Health officials recommend that people who think they have covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, call their health care providers as their first step in seeking health care.

Also, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is offering free online screenings on its website, uamshealth.com/healthnow, and over the phone at (800) 632-4502.

UAMS Medical Center also is offering drive-thru screenings on the ground floor of a parking garage at Shuffield and Jack Stephens drives in Little Rock.

According to its website (baptist-health.com/coronavirus/), Baptist Health’s screening locations include:

■ Triage stations in the Medical Towers II parking deck at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock and in front of the emergency room at Baptist Health-Conway. Patients at both locations are billed for an emergency room visit.

■ Drive-thru clinics at Baptist Health Medical Center-Heber Springs, Baptist Health Family Clinic-Caddo Valley in Arkadelphia, the Hot Spring County Health Unit in Malvern and the Baptist Health Stuttgart Medical Clinic. People should call ahead to schedule appointments: (501) 887-3279 for the Heber Springs location, (870) 245-2198 for Arkadelphia and (870) 673-7211 for Stuttgart.

Drive-thru screenings are also available at:

■ Conway Regional Medical Center (conwayregional.org/patients-visitors/ covid-19-info).

■ Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff (jrmc.org/covid19/).

■ Washington Regional Eureka Springs Family Clinic (wregional.com/ main/coronavirus).

Washington Regional Medical Center also has a screening clinic at 3318 N. Hills Blvd. in Fayetteville.

Arkansas’ 12 community health centers also are offering screenings and testing at 69 locations around the state. Information on where to go is available from their hot line at (833) 508-0774 or at chc-ar.org/coronavirus-testing-sites.

For children, Arkansas Children’s hospital is offering drive-thru screenings and phone screenings at (800) 743-3616. (archildrens.org).

Symptoms of covid-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. A health care provider will decide if a test is appropriate based on the symptoms and possible exposure to the coronavirus.