MSU Health Care to offer drive-through testing for COVID-19

Patients must have physician's order to receive testing

March 31, 2020

On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, MSU Health Care will begin offering drive-through testing for COVID-19. Members of the public with a physician’s order for COVID-19 testing can receive drive-through testing in Parking Lot 100 at 846 Service Road, just east of the Radiology Building at the Clinical Center. Drive-through specimen collection will be available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. These hours may change according to need.

“Providing testing to our community is essential to combating COVID-19,” said Kris Allen, RN, MSN, MHA, Chief Nursing Officer for MSU Health Care. “MSU is known for training medical and nursing students in our colleges. They may not know that MSU also provides clinical care on a daily basis. We want our patients, faculty, staff and the community to know that the MSU Health Care providers are here to help them through this pandemic.”

In order to be tested, patients will need:

A physician’s order for COVID-19 testing Valid photo identification, such as a driver’s license.

Patients will remain in their vehicles for the duration of the specimen collection process. The samples will be sent to Sparrow Hospital’s labs for testing, with the test results returned to the ordering physician. Test results are typically available in 24-48 hours. At this time, there is no cost for the test and patients do not need insurance to get tested.

Patients don’t need to call ahead to set up an appointment time, they can simply show up during available hours with their written physician’s orders.

“We are here to care for patients and will put as few barriers in place as possible. Our team is inspiring. I’m honored to work alongside these clinicians and support staff and call myself a Spartan,” said Seth Ciabotti, Chief Executive Officer for Health Care. “From early in February, everyone has been working together, asking ‘what do you need?’, ‘What can I do?’”

If they have more than one patient in their vehicle who needs to be tested, they will need to have physician’s orders for each person. Collectors will need written copies of orders to submit them with the specimens.

“As the number of U.S. COVID-19 cases expands, it is essential to have more testing sites available so we can help patients and healthcare workers obtain testing if needed,” said Tony Avellino, MD, MBA, Assistant Vice President for Health Sciences, Chief Clinical and Medical Officer and Interim Director of Athletic Medicine.

For questions about the drive-through testing process, please call our Triage Line at 855-958-2MSU (958-2678).