COVID-19 Drive-through Screening Center Sees 386 People in First Three Days

Henry Ford Allegiance Health and the MyCare Advice Line are experiencing a large volume of phone calls for COVID-19 screening.Screening is by appointment only and please wait  until noon today to begin calling the Henry Ford MyCare Advice Line (313-874-7500). 

 (March 17, 2020 10:55 AM) Among the first in the State to open its drive-through COVID-19 screening center, Henry Ford Allegiance Health reports screening 386 individuals in its first three days of operation.

“Our team was simply incredible,” said Courtland Keteyian, MD, Vice President of Population Health at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. “We had less than 24 hours to build the screening center from the ground up, and our team members worked around the clock to make the impossible happen.”

In a White House news conference on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced retailers like Walmart, Target and CVS would begin opening their own screening centers to test individuals for COVID-19.

 “While we welcome large retailers to begin offering testing as a way of easing the burden for health care providers like us, we knew we could not wait to make this crucial screening service available to our patients and community members,” said Paula Autry, President and CEO of Henry Ford Allegiance Health.

In less than three full days of screening, Henry Ford Allegiance Health has processed over 386 vehicles. Strict screening criteria, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, are being applied to determine who is eligible to be tested for COVID-19. Those screened for the disease were given instructions following their testing, which include self-isolation for a period of 4-5 days while their results are pending. Test results may take longer to receive, however, given a national shortage of capacity to process these results.

 “While 4-5 days can be a long time to quarantine oneself, it is the most appropriate precaution to help ensure someone with symptoms does not inadvertently spread the COVID-19 virus to other individuals,” said Keteyian. “We are talking a great deal about ‘flattening the curve,’ which will slow the spread of COVID-19 and allow health care providers the time and resources to care for a greater number of affected patients.

To conserve resources for those who are sickest, anyone with symptoms of fever, dry cough and shortness of breath must first call the Henry Ford MyCare Advice Line (313-874-7500) to be triaged and given an appointment at the drive-through screening center.

 Due to the overwhelming number of individuals utilizing the drive-through screening center in its first three days, it will reopen today at noon under a new “appointment only” model.

Henry Ford Allegiance Health is asking community members to wait until noon today before calling, while they work to ensure proper coverage for the anticipated number of calls. 

Anyone calling before that time will not be screened for an appointment, and those arriving to the drive-through screening center without an appointment will be turned away.