Osseo Clinic Sees Surge of People Doing Drive-Through Testing
The number of people choosing to do drive-through testing for COVID-19 appears to be picking up. Voyage Healthcare, for example, has seen a surge of people at its drive-through testing site in Osseo. Other such sites, like North Memorial’s clinic in Robbinsdale, has also seen testing numbers go up.
The Voyage site in Osseo is for active illnesses, past illnesses and for possible exposure.
“We see anywhere from 25-30 people a day just in the evaluation tents,” said Dr. Scott Coleson with Voyage Healthcare. “We have a separate tent set up for people coming through just for testing.”
Coleson said all testings are by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, call Voyage Healthcare’s COVID-19 hotline at (763) 587-7999 (Press 5 when prompted).
“You talk to one of our nurses or one of our nurse practitioners who will asses you over the phone. If we feel you need to come in for evaluation, we get you an appointment in one of the tents,” said Coleson.
During the testing, drivers pull up to the site and open their window. Clinical staff will take a throat swab, place the sample in a sterile container and send it in for testing. You’ll receive a phone call of your results in about three to five days.
Antibody testing is also available at Voyage Healthcare in Crystal, Maple Grove and Osseo. An antibody test can detect a previous infection or exposure. To improve the accuracy of the test, doctors suggest waiting 21 days after any symptoms of the infection has passed.
“Because those people are well, we aren’t necessarily seeing those people out here. We’re trying to keep all the sick people out here to keep the clinic clean. So the people coming either for antibody testing or just for usual illnesses, it’ll make certain that we’re not getting people sick when we’re in the clinic.”
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Crystal | Maple Grove | Osseo
