Dec. 10, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Sanford Health.

Thankfully, encouraging news about the arrival of effective COVID-19 vaccines is now appearing on the health care horizon. It’s important to note, however, that for now the pandemic remains a reality everyone in the region has to live with.

That means testing for the virus – along with social distancing, wearing a mask and staying away from large groups – is a vital part of keeping the public as healthy as possible.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Sanford Health put together a drive-thru screening center that delivered COVID-19 tests accurately and efficiently. Months later, the center remains an important part of combating the virus in the community.

Sanford Health continues to offer COVID-19 drive-thru testing at the Sanford Sports Complex. The testing center is open until 8 p.m. every day and is available to those who have an order from a primary physician or via My Sanford Nurse or Sanford Acute Care.

The surge in COVID-19 cases this fall has made the testing site, located at the Sanford Sports Complex, a very busy place. Drive-thru tests often reach 500 a day at the site and have peaked at more than 700.

“It’s extremely important that people get tested,” said Dr. Brian Tjarks, medical director for Sanford Acute Care. “That’s the only way they can know whether or not they need to isolate.”

COVID-19 testing site moves quickly

The Sanford testing site remains open until 8 p.m. seven days a week, and most often involves minimal wait time. The line gets longer in the morning and again around lunchtime, but otherwise moves along briskly.

Tjarks stressed that it is important when seeking a test to come to the site with an order from your primary doctor, My Sanford Nurse or Sanford Acute Care.

From that point, it’s just a matter of moving forward. Individuals are greeted by nurses who verify identification and make sure the testing order is entered correctly. Then, it’s on to the testing area.

“You’re almost never going to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes,” Tjarks said. “At our new testing structure behind the Sports Complex, you drive in, and someone will swab your nose. Most often, the process takes two or three minutes.”

For now, the most effective way to prevent the virus from spreading is via isolation — keeping the people who are infected away from those who are not. It is not a complicated part of the community effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, but it is a vital and necessary one while the region awaits the availability of a vaccine.

“If people have any symptoms at all, they should be tested,” Tjarks said. “That goes for people of all ages, from the very young to the very old. It’s the younger people who are transmitting the virus to the older people. And it’s the older people who are getting seriously ill and end up in the hospital.”

Results usually within one or two days

COVID-19 test results are most often determined in less than 48 hours, Tjarks said. It can depend on how many people are being tested that week. When it’s particularly busy, getting results can take longer.

Those who have tested positive for the virus then can seek treatment appropriate to their symptoms. A positive test can help patients gain access to options such as home monitoring and home oxygen more quickly because parts of the process to set up treatment are waived.

As with everything else associated with COVID-19, the quicker the better. That goes not only for delivering treatment but also for refining the testing process. This includes accommodating winter conditions. The new testing structure protects staff from the weather while also maintaining the safety of drive-thru testing.

“With COVID, things can change very quickly,” Tjarks said. “We have a fabulous team in place. That includes our providers, our nursing staff, our patient access team, our lab and X-ray staff and, very importantly, our administrators. Our entire team has risen to the challenge and done whatever they can to make testing more convenient while providing the best possible care they can to patients.”