While local health officials have expressed concerns about the availability of COVID-19 tests in Bibb County, recent changes to state requirements, additional specimen collection sites and efforts from local organizations like Mercer University should make it easier for Middle Georgians to get coronavirus tests.
The Georgia Department of Public Health relaxed testing requirements and increased the number of specimen collection sites last week.
Georgians still need to receive a referral before receiving a test, but state health officials say receiving a referral is much easier and the referral no longer has to be from a primary care physician. Instead, state residents can call a hotline to receive an evaluation and a referral. Healthcare workers, first responders, law enforcement and long-term care residents and staff are still being prioritized.
HOW TO GET TESTED
If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you can can call 1-844-987-0099 to be screened and request a test. The hotline is staffed at 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
Symptoms, according to the CDC, include fever, a cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, a headache, a sore throat and shortness of breath/difficulty breathing.
Depending on the results of the evaluation, you will receive an appointment for the most convenient testing site an a Person Under Investigation (PUI) number, which you’ll need to be tested.
“People should not arrive unannounced or without a scheduled appointment at a specimen collection site, hospital, emergency room or other health care facility,” the Georgia Department of Public Health said in a news release.
MIDDLE GEORGIA SPECIMEN COLLECTION SITES
The North Central Health District opened its first drive up test site in Bibb County on April 16, and it has several other collection sites across its 13 county district. Middle Georgians need a referral before visiting the site.
Coliseum Medical Centers announced Monday it is now offering same-day testing at three area hospitals.
“Because all patients who are suspected of possible COVID-19 are treated as if they are positive, we follow strict infection prevention protocols to keep everyone safe,” said Stephen J. Daugherty, CEO of Coliseum Health System, in the release. “We’ve had great partners that get test results back to us in about two days. However, having in-house testing allows us to rule out or confirm COVID-19 in just hours. This will significantly reduce the number of patients whose results are pending, which in turn, helps us conserve personal protective equipment and other resources.”
However, this same-day testing is only available for admitted patients at Coliseum Medical Centers.
Navicent Health has been collecting test samples as well. Although the specimens are being collected in Middle Georgia, most of the testing is not happening locally. The specimens are being sent to labs in other areas of the state.
THE FIRST MIDDLE GEORGIA TESTING LAB
Mercer Medicine, a subsidiary of Mercer University’s School of Medicine where faculty practice medicine, has been collecting specimens at its clinics in Fort Valley and Plains, and the school has been sending specimens to a lab in Atlanta.
Charles Duffey, the chief operating officer of Mercer Medicine, said the school is waiting for a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certificate to test the specimens in-house.
Mercer Medicine is also performing mobile testing in rural areas and is working with local health officials in Bibb County to potentially set up mobile testing sites when needed, he said.
“We’ll run as many tests as we can for us or anybody else, if we’ve got the capacity,” he said.
Mercer Medicine is working with Diagnostics, a privately owned laboratory, to determine the capacity for testing specimens Mercer Medicine will have and to convert medical research equipment into testing equipment, he said.
“For us, it’s interesting because you have a lot of different people testing, and we don’t want to throw a wrench in the overall coordination; but at the same time, we hope that we can be nimble enough that in a moments notice we can be ready to deploy a team in some of these areas,” Duffey said.
Mercer Medicine will have professionals on-site to help process test specimens with Mercer Medicine staff, but Duffey said they have also opened up the opportunity for students to volunteer.
“Mercer’s mission is to train students to serve, and I really think they’re taking that to heart during times like this. They just really see the need and want to jump in and help,” he said.
SOURCE:THE TELEGRAPH