April 29, 2020

Avita Adds COVID-19 Drive-Through Screening Tent

GALION – In a continued effort to prevent the spread of illness, Avita Health System has opened a COVID-19 drive-through screening tent in Galion. Patients who present at the tent must have an appointment and doctor’s order to be eligible for testing.

“The first step is to contact your primary care provider,” explained Shellie Burgin, Vice President of Physician Services. “If your symptoms meet the criteria for testing, your provider will give you a doctor’s order and set up an appointment for drive-through testing. This method allows us to test for COVID-19 while limiting potential exposure to others.”

Avita’s COVID-19 screening tent is located at 800 Portland Way North in Galion, within a 20 minute drive of all 3 Avita hospitals. The tent is open Monday-Friday from 8:00am – 2:00pm. To schedule an appointment, patients must have an order from their healthcare provider. Patients are instructed to drive through the tent at their scheduled appointment time and remain in their vehicles. The staff, wearing personal protective equipment, will test for COVID-19 via nasal swab through the window of the vehicle.

Burgin added, “Drive-through screening is a safe and convenient option for patients who are symptomatic. It’s another resource to help protect patients and employees and has been part of our contingency plans since day one; but PPE and the availability of test kits were concerns in the early phases. This is one of many options that we are offering to help keep our communities safe during the pandemic. A few others include telehealth video appointments and our COVID-19 Information Hotline.”

To answer questions about coronavirus, Avita’s COVID-19 Information Hotline is available 5 days a week from 8:00am – 4:30pm at 419-468-0800. In the case of an emergency, call 911. For information on Telehealth video appointments, visit avitahealth.org/telehealth.

Avita Health System is dedicated to the health and safety of the community. Avita will continue to monitor hospital operations, assess the needs of the community, and take necessary COVID-19 precautions as the situation develops and new information emerges.