Mount Nittany Health starts up drive-thru coronavirus testing site in State College, by appointment
For patients of Mount Nittany Health and Penn State Health, testing for the coronavirus just got a little easier.
Mount Nittany Health announced that it started a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site Thursday at its Blue Course Drive location at 1700 Old Gatesburg Road in State College, meaning patients don’t need to step out of their cars. Those who want to get tested must first have an appointment and must be referred by a primary care physician from one of those two health systems.
Mount Nittany declined to say how many tests it is able to administer each day, and it declined to say how long before the test results are known — outside of emphasizing they’ll be received “as soon as possible” from commercial labs.
“We opened the site today, in collaboration with Penn State Health, as part of our continued measures to protect our patients, employees, providers and community,” Mount Nittany Health spokesperson Nichole Monica said in an email.
Patients without a primary care physician can reach Mount Nittany Health at 844-278-4600 for more information. Others outside of the two health systems are urged to speak to their own primary care physicians about testing.
According to a news release, the drive-thru testing is expected to take about an hour and no restrooms will be available during that time. Patients should enter from Ginger Way, and they’ll then encounter three stations:
- Station 1: Greeting. This confirms patients have an appointment, and both Mount Nittany Health and Penn State Health are requesting patients bring copies of their insurance cards and photo IDs. If someone does not have an appointment, he or she will be turned away.
- Station 2: Registration. A staff member will register the patient via phone, and patients will be asked to sit on the driver’s side of the car. Then it’s time to wait in line.
- Station 3: Collection. The patient will be swabbed by staff in protective gear before exiting.
“If someone is not feeling well, especially with fever, cough, shortness of breath, then they need to call their primary care provider,” Monica said.
Centre County now has nine confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the state Department of Health. In Pennsylvania, as of noon Thursday, there are 1,687 overall cases with 16 having resulted in deaths.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 2:49 PM.
