Tri-Cities patients can get COVID-19 tests and other care without leaving the car

You can now see a doctor or nurse from the safety of your car in the Tri-Cities.

Tri-Cities Community Health is offering drive-thru health care services, including testing for COVID-19, at its Court Street Urgent Care clinic and at its Ochoa Middle School-based clinic.

“We’re able to provide the full array of urgent care services and have that be done from the safety of our patients’ cars,” said Jim Davis, chief executive officer of Tri-Cities Community Health.

The in-car health care was started for the safety of both the patients and the Tri-Cities Community Health team, he said.

Health care workers seeing the patients wear full protective equipment and walk by each car to ask standard screening questions for symptoms of COVID-19 and to do a temperature check.

Some people drive up for screenings, including blood pressure checks and blood sugar checks, or because they have earaches or colds, while others are in the car line for a test for infection with the coronavirus.

No appointments are required for drive up service at 515 W. Court St., but patients may be seen more quickly at the Ochoa Middle School health clinic at 1801 E. Sheppard St. Appointments are required at the school-based health clinic by calling 509-547-2204.

An order by a health care provider working for Tri-Cities Community Health is required for COVID-19 testing. For more information, call the same number, 509-547-2204.

Tri-Cities Community Health expects to be able to provide COVID-19 tests ordered by other doctors and health care providers in the Tri-Cities area eventually, but cannot accommodate that anticipated volume yet.

Davis said that as the availability of testing and test kits has improved, the number of tests performed has increased substantially.

Rapid COVID testing

Some of the tests done at the Ochoa school clinic are the rapid tests with results available in five to 15 minutes. If tests are sent to a lab, as is the case for tests at the urgent care clinic, results are usually available in 24 to 48 hours.

“The testing process is generally quick, not painful, and has been going very smoothly at our Ochoa school-based drive-through clinic,” Davis said.

At the Court Street urgent care clinic, where there are no appointments, there have been backups in service when several people and vehicles arrive in a short period of time, he said.

Some people reported waits that lasted for a couple of hours on Tuesday morning, which was unusually busy. In some cases, more seriously ill patients were seen first.

Patients who need care inside the clinic buildings are given a mask to wear while inside and take the mask home at the end of the visit.

“We anticipate that these (drive-thrus) are going to stay open in this fashion, just because people have a great deal of uncertainty about what is going to be in the future,” Davis said.

Tri-Cities Community Health also is offering curb-side pickup or free home delivery by request of prescriptions at its three pharmacies: 515 W. Court St., Pasco; 721 S. Auburn St. in Kennewick; and 915 Goethals Drive in Richland.

Tri-Cities Community Health will bill insurance or offer care on a sliding fee scale. No one is refused service based on inability to pay.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 1:42 PM.