Penn State Health temporarily closes several State College outpatient locations
Several Penn State Health Medical Group locations in State College will temporarily close in response to the evolving coronavirus pandemic.
Penn State Health announced the temporary closure or consolidation of a number of its physician practices across the region on Sunday.
In many cases, according to a news release, patients will be redirected to other clinic sites, and medical group staff are contacting those who are affected. In State College, outpatient locations at 32 Colonnade Way, the Windmere Centre at 476 Rolling Ridge Drive, 303 Benner Pike and the Employee Health and Wellness Center in the Nursing Sciences Building at University Park have been temporarily closed.
As patients cancel regular check-ups and other scheduled appointments, there has been a decrease in patient volume at many of the closed Penn State Health sites, the health system said. Penn State Health also wants to preserve medical supplies for an anticipated increase in patients with respiratory symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.
Two other Penn State Health Medical Group locations in State College — 1850 E. Park Ave., Suite 207 and Penn State Sports Medicine at 1850 E. Park Ave., Suite 112 — remain open.
Physicians and staff at closed or consolidated sites are being redeployed to other locations, according to a press release, with some physicians providing remote consultation for patients through the Penn State Health OnDemand telehealth platform.
Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system that includes the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey. On Saturday, the health system announced that an employee at one of its outpatient practices on the medical center campus tested positive for COVID-19. The test was confirmed by the state Department of Health on Friday.
The employee was exposed through a family member and not in the workplace, Penn State Health said in a news release. The employee went home as soon as symptoms were recognized and has been recovering at home.
Penn State Health notified a small number of patients who may have interacted with the staff member, recommending they self-quarantine and monitor themselves for symptoms. The employee’s coworkers were also notified and all members of the clinic are wearing masks while around other people on campus, in additional to monitoring for symptoms.
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 5:18 PM.