Patient being tested at the Cape Cod Healthcare drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College<\/p>\n
HYANNIS Cape Cod Healthcare, in partnership with Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, is now providing drive-through COVID-19 testing to patients with a doctors order at Cape Cod Community College.<\/p>\n
The testing facility is set up in a parking lot section of the college campus.<\/p>\n
Patients are asked to not leave their vehicle at any time during the testing. Upon arriving patients will be greeted by a security officer or police officer and a person in a hazmat suit.<\/p>\n
Patients will then be asked for identification and appointment time.<\/p>\n
Patients have to have a doctors order and an appointment to come here. If you do not have a doctors order and a scheduled appointment you will be turned away, no exceptions, said Cape Cod Health Care Senior Vice President of Communications and Business Development, Patrick Kane. <\/p>\n
Once verified by officials, patients will move their vehicles to two testing lanes that will be represented by orange safety cones.<\/p>\n
At the front of the line are two blue tents, described as those that one would see at a football tailgate. Nurses will be stationed under those tents ready to test incoming patients.<\/p>\n
There is also a yellow tent set up that holds clinical supplies and an overhead that was provided by the college to provide shelter for medical professionals.<\/p>\n
When a patient makes it to the front of the line, a nurse in a hazmat suit will approach the car and take a nose swab that will immediately be placed inside a hazmat bag.<\/p>\n
That bag will then be re-bagged and put into a refrigerator where it will be frozen.<\/p>\n
Once frozen the sample will be shipped out to a lab such as the one run by the Department of Public Health, or a private lab that has agreed to work with Cape Cod Healthcare.<\/p>\n
As patients leave, they will be given a four page set of instructions that will tell them to self-quarantine for several days.<\/p>\n
Once the test result comes back, patients will be notified if they tested positive or negative for Coronavirus.<\/p>\n
If a patient tests positive they will also be informed if a follow up appointment with a doctor is needed.<\/p>\n
On site the drive-thru testing facility also houses two command centers.<\/p>\n
One command center is for police and security officers and facilities personnel from Cape Cod Healthcare.<\/p>\n
The other command center is an operation center for clinical people like nurses and healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n
Kane estimates that each test should take about five minutes.<\/p>\n
He also added that the drive thru facility will only be limited by the availability of kits that they have.<\/p>\n
He said that there is a supply shortage throughout the state and that Cape Cod Healthcare is addressing the situation the best they can. <\/p>\n
If kits run out, the facility will continue to do swabs and try their best while they attempt to get more supplies.<\/p>\n
It was also noted that those deemed to be at a greater risk to the virus by a physician will be tested first, such as people who have recently traveled and people with underlying medical conditions.<\/p>\n
Kane continued to stress that no matter the situation, only those with a doctors order and a scheduled appointment will be allowed into the drive-thru facility.<\/p>\n
The message here is no doctors order, no appointment, you wont be swabbed here, no exceptions, said Kane.<\/p>\n
The facility will test eligible patients seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
For more information regarding the Cape Cod Healthcare drive thru testing facility, visit Capecodhealthcare.org.<\/p>\n
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Cape Cod Healthcare Opens Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Facility - CapeCod.com News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Patient being tested at the Cape Cod Healthcare drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College HYANNIS Cape Cod Healthcare, in partnership with Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, is now providing drive-through COVID-19 testing to patients with a doctors order at Cape Cod Community College. The testing facility is set up in a parking lot section of the college campus Continue reading