Responding to health concerns about the coronavirus in the St. Louis region, Mercy will open a drive-thru COVID-19 test collection site on Saturday, March 14, at the Mercy Virtual Care Center, 15740 S. Outer Forty Road in Chesterfield.
The site is exclusively for patients who have a fever of at least 100.4 degrees and respiratory symptoms, including cough or shortness of breath. Anyone seeking a test must call Mercy’s COVID-19 clinical support line at (314) 251-0500, before arriving.
“We will only provide screening for those who meet these requirements because testing prior to the appearance of symptoms can result in a false negative,” said Dr. Keith Starke, Mercy’s chief quality officer. “It’s critical for our communities that we screen those with the highest risk.”
“This drive-thru testing site will prevent unnecessary exposure to our patients and caregivers in our hospitals and clinics,” said Donn Sorensen, Mercy’s executive vice president of operations, who is leading COVID-19 response across Mercy. “By directing at-risk people to this site, Mercy will limit the traffic to our hospitals and clinics. The safety of our patients, visitors and co-workers is of the utmost importance.”
Mercy will collect a sample and send it to the designated lab, the state health department or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results may take several days. There will be a cost associated with the testing; it’s unknown if commercial insurance or government funding will cover any of the cost.
Mercy is working closely with BJC HealthCare and SSM Health, as well as the state and local health departments as additional sites are opened across St. Louis. Mercy also plans to open additional test sites across Mercy’s four states.
Mercy said COVID-19 is spread from person to person, more than 80% of the patients who develop it will only become mildly ill. The concern is for patients with underlying medical conditions and the elderly, who are more likely to need hospital-level supportive care.
People with COVID-19 do not have a runny nose or nasal congestion. Symptoms to be aware of include:
- 100.4 fever or higher – 90% will have fever.
- Dry cough – 70% will have a dry cough.
- Shortness of breath – for those who become more acutely ill.