Tuscaloosa-based DCH Regional Medical Center became the latest Alabama venue to offer remote coronavirus screening.
The hospital’s COVID-19 task force is setting up its screening facility in a large parking area just west of Dr. Edward Hillard Drive near the DCH laundry facility.
The screenings begin Monday and will be offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, until need diminishes.
“DCH is committed to ensuring the health and safety of the community,” said Dr. Blake Lovely, emergency room physician and medical director for emergency department services at DCH.
He added, “DCH felt it was important to offer resources for educating the community, responding to questions and concerns and facilitating the testing process.”
The Tuscaloosa location joins two drive-thru testing sites in the Birmingham area as the state’s only confirmed remote testing sites. Alabama-based Assurance has opened the drive-thru testing sites in Vestavia Hills and Bessemer.
Other testing locations are in the works. Huntsville Hospital announced Friday it would have a “fever clinic” open soon where patients can get assessed with or without a physician’s order. And Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said Friday that the state would utilize federal funding to open more coronavirus testing sites in the coming weeks.
At DCH, people who think they have contacted the virus will be able to pull up and speak to a health care provider from their vehicle. Providers will conduct a verbal and visual screening based on the most recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control Prevention based on the most recent federal guidelines:
-Flu-like symptoms including fever and/or respiratory illness.
-Close contact with a laboratory-confirmed coronavirus patient with 14 days of symptom onset.
-Travel from an affected geographic area within 14 days of symptom onset.
Based on screening, people will either be directed to the Emergency Department at DCH or to their primary care provider for routine or emergent care or to the tent for additional evaluation. That could include coordination with the Alabama Department of Public Health for specimen collection and testing of people with symptoms.
The DCH COVID19 task force is made up of hospital leadership, physicians nurses, infection prevention, safety and other experts.
Tuscaloosa County has one of the six confirmed cases of the coronavirus. According to DCH, the infected person was not admitted to the hospital.
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