TIME OF TESTING
FEDS TARGET NURSING HOMES, FIRST RESPONDERS FOR COVID-19 SCREENINGS
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » A photo of a car with New Jersey plates in line to get tested for COVID-19 in Delaware County, published in Wednesday’s Delaware County Times, got Carole Nasella’s attention.
“We are a family of three. My daughter and I both tested positive,” said Nasella, a Ridley Township resident. “My husband is in law enforcement, had no symptoms and therefore was unable to be tested.
“The department quarantined my husband but a doctor would not authorize the testing,” said Nasella.
Nasella and her daughter are both recovered from what she called mild cases and her husband has has been clear for two weeks.
While officials were unable to explain the specific case at Taylor Hospital, they assure area residents that testing is available through major health care providers, for those with symptoms and for first responders.
There are seven sites in Delaware County offering drive-up COVID-19 testing. Most are affiliated with three major healthcare providers Crozer-Keystone, Penn Medicine and Main Line Health. Two locations are at Vybe Urgent Care offices. Most sites require prior contact with a doctor via tele-medicine or a family doctor.
Crozer Keystone holds testing at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park. According to Rich Leonowitz, director of media relations, Crozer has a phone hotline 610-447-6730 recording that tells you the steps to take in order to get tested. Normally, you need a physician’s referral to get tested. However, it is also possible to obtain a referral through the Department of Health.
Main Line Health holds drive-through testing at its Newtown Square medical offices. Spokeswoman Mary Kate Coghlan said residents need a referral from their physician. Contact your primary care provider to determine if you are a candidate for testing. Criteria are changing daily. Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control only recommends diagnostic testing of patients who have a fever or are symptomatic and have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. If you require testing, your primary care provider will tell you where to go. An on-line website assessment directs you to either self-isolate, call your physician or to call 911 if you are in distress. The testing is for patients who have a fever or are symptomatic and have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. Please be advised: Testing for COVID-19 is not available at all sites in the Main Line Health System.
Penn Medicine has drivethrough testing in Radnor, with test kits available for those who are experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms. The testing site is intended for symptomatic Penn Medicine patients who have received a referral. However, you do not need to be a Penn Medicine patient to get tested. Non-Penn patients without a doctor’s referral are screened on a case-bycase basis, according to their website, and they will need to go to the testing site at 201 King of Prussia Road, speak with a staff member, and get slotted for a testing time.
Two Vybe Urgent Care locations in the county, 1305 West Chester Pike in the Manoa Shopping Center in Haverford and 213 Morton Ave. in Ridley, offer testing. When they arrive, patients are instructed to call a number on the door of the office. They are then given a telemedicine interview with a doctor to determine need. A technician will come out to their car to administer the swab test. Payment would be made through an insurance provider.
Additionally, same-day testing is available at Montgomery County Community College 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, by appointment to individuals who meet one of the following five criteria: 1) Persons of any age and with symptoms of sudden illness (such as fever or cough or shortness of breath or loss of smell/taste and including gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or vomiting or diarrhea) with or without fever; 2) First responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS, or dispatcher) who have a concern for exposure to a patient with suspected COVID-19 or symptoms of any sudden illness with or without fever;
3) Health care workers providing direct patient care and concern for exposure to a patient with suspected COVID-19 OR symptoms of any sudden illness with or without fever; 4) Anyone with known or suspected direct contact to someone with COVID-19; 5) Anyone who has been recommended by their doctor to get tested.
The times are 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. on the days of operation, as testing supplies allow. This testing site has been relocated from the Temple Ambler campus. To make an appointment, call 610-631-3000.
Testing uses self-swabs sent from the Department of Health and Human Services. The patient will receive a swab in a sealed package, then place it in their nostrils themselves, and then place in a tube for transport. If all slots are filled, you will be offered option to be put into a waiting list because of daily cancellations. A link to register is available on www.montcopa.org/COVID-19.