Arlington Coronavirus Test Sample Collection Site Starts Work

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington's drive-thru coronavirus test sample collection site processed 6o samples from county residents on its first day, which is more than had been anticipated.

"Today we exceeded our own expectations as far as the number of patients that we would see," said Melody Dickerson, Virginia Hospital Center's (VHC) chief nursing officer. "We were actually able to, in the afternoon, almost double the number of appointments per hour, because of the efficiencies that we learned as we kind of go through this process as a team."

The coronavirus sample collection site was put together over the last week as a joint effort of VHC and the Arlington County Public Health, Police, Fire and Environmental Services departments, and the sheriff's office. It began collecting samples at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“Arlington County is appreciative of our partnership with Virginia Hospital Center to facilitate sample collection for our community at this drive-thru center,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said in a release. “This is an important collaborative effort at a critical time.”

Although the term "drive-thru" suggests easy access for anyone, the facility is open only to patients with an appointment. No walk-ins are allowed.

Anyone who thinks they have the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, must first contact their own physician, who will evaluate them to see if testing is necessary. Only patients with a physician's order for testing and an appointment can visit the site, at 1429 N. Quincy St. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

"It's very important that individuals who come to this collection site come with an appointment, that they've gone through our scheduling line for that, as well as having a physician's order for the collection. It's just like if you went to your outpatient lab," Dickerson said at a Wednesday news conference. "Also, we're looking at only individuals who are eligible coming in a private vehicle — no foot traffic, bicycles, etc. Just for safety, it needs to be done in a private vehicle."

The whole process of collection takes only about 10 minutes from start to finish. A patient drives up to the site and provides verification of their appointment. They then drive to the back of the site, where there are two tents. In the first tent, the patient completes their registration. Once all of the information is gathered, they drive forward to the tent where sample collection occurs.

"The individual collecting the sample would then have that person roll down their window, put their head back, and they would get a throat swab, much like he would get for strep throat," Dickerson said. "And when that's complete, they roll up their window, and they're on their way."

Samples are sent out to a lab for processing, with a turnaround of five to seven days for results. The state is notified of any positive results.

Dickerson said she is proud of the work her team is doing and the opportunity they've been given to provide this service to the community.

"Like everyone, I'm sitting at home watching the news and the events that are happening across the world, and I'm very concerned for the safety of me, my nurses and all the other employees at the hospital and physicians as well as my own family," she said. "So I think it's a wonderful thing that we are able to offer this screening and collection of these tests to our community so that they will have peace of mind and those who need advanced medical treatment will be able to do that."

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