DENVER — Beginning Thursday, National Jewish Health said it will offer expanded drive-through COVID-19 testing to the broader Colorado community and will have the capacity to process a total of up to 1,000 tests per day though its lab.
The tests processed at the lab are taken from within the hospital, their respiratory clinic, and all of their sister hospitals or facilities. Results will be available within 24 hours, according to National Jewish.
Patients who pre-register and have a physician referral will be eligible for drive-through testing at National Jewish Health. Right now they expect to be able to handle about 70 cars per day, according to a hospital spokesperson.
“We take seriously our mission to serve the community. That is why we are so pleased to substantially expand the availability of this test to more people in need,” said National Jewish Health President and CEO Michael Salem, MD in a release.
“Broad community testing will be a vital tool in understanding the reach of this pandemic as the spread of COVID-19 begins to subside and we look towards the stabilization phase and the gradual reopening of our communities.”
To get an appointment at the testing site, patients need to have a referral order from their physician (form available here).
Once the order form has been received, the patient will be contacted with an offer of a two-hour time period for drive-through testing at the National Jewish Health Harrison Street parking lot between 13th and 14th Avenues.
As national recommendations regarding the testing change, National Jewish Health said it's prepared to expand testing further. They also said they can work directly with employers to assist them in getting their workforces tested.
Children and adults suffering suspected COVID-19 symptoms, that would normally prompt a visit to a physician, can get testing and evaluation at the National Jewish Health Acute Respiratory Care Clinics.
In addition, a new Respiratory Recovery Clinic is available for patients who need to be evaluated for the lingering physical and other effects of the disease once they are in recovery. To make an appointment at either the Acute Respiratory Clinics or the Respiratory Recovery Clinics call 303-398-1355.
National Jewish Health launched its certified in-house testing in March. Early testing efforts were focused on symptomatic National Jewish Health patients, health care workers, and hospitalized patients at local hospitals and other health care facilities.
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