Mercy to Open COVID-19 Test Collection Site at Washington Fairgrounds

Those seeking testing must call 314-251-0500 before arriving

Washington, Mo. (March 20, 2020) With more cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) appearing in the St. Louis region, Mercy has preliminary plans to open additional drive-through COVID-19 test collection sites* early next week. This will include a site in Washington scheduled to open on Monday morning.

Mercy Test Collection Sites are exclusively for patients who meet the Centers for Disease Control and state health department guidelines for testing. To qualify for testing at the drive-through site, patients must have a fever of at least 100.4 degrees and respiratory symptoms including cough or shortness of breath, and either recent travel to a high-risk area or contact with a known COVID-19 patient. Anyone seeking a test must call Mercy’s COVID-19 Clinical Support Line at 314-251-0500 before arriving.

The Washington test site will be located on the Washington Fairgrounds, near the Mercy First Aid Building and the Motorsports Arena. The site will operate from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday by appointment only. Mercy’s first test collection site opened earlier this month in Chesterfield at the Mercy Virtual Care Center, 15740 S. Outer Forty Rd.

“We are very appreciative of the city of Washington for supporting this test collection site at the fairgrounds,” said David Chalk, MD, president of Mercy Clinic Four Rivers. “This site will help redirect patients with possible exposure risks away from our clinics and emergency department, where other ill patients will be seeking care for their particular illnesses. This limits the possibility of exposure to COVID-19 for other patients and for our medical teams.”

As with the first test site, patients will first call Mercy’s clinical support line at 314-251-0500 to be screened, and if appropriate, they will be given a time to arrive at the test collection site in Washington. Mercy will collect a sample and send it to a designated lab, the state health department, or a private lab. Results will take several days. There will be a cost associated with the testing, and most insurance companies along with Medicare and Medicaid have committed to covering the cost. No one will be turned away from the testing site due to cost.

Mercy is also working on opening additional test collection sites throughout Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems for four consecutive years (2016 to 2019) by IBM Watson Health, serves millions annually. Mercy includes more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 45,000 co-workers and 2,400 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In addition, Mercy's IT division, Mercy Technology Services, and Mercy Virtual commercially serve providers and patients from coast to coast. 

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