The Observation Deck

Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Starts in Cleveland

The photos below were taken around 1 hour after testing started. The testing was done inside of a parking garage. Cleveland Clinic police officers and traffic guards were all wearing masks.

The line stretched out of the parking garage, onto East 105th Street, then snaked through a nearby parking lot, back onto East 105th Street, then onto Carnegie. It was stretching back to Stokes Blvd when I left.


PHOTOS BY Jacob Chabowski / Lakewood Observer

From a joint Cleveland Clinic / UH press release:
Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals (UH) have partnered to provide drive-through COVID-19 testing for patients with a doctor’s order from UH or Cleveland Clinic. The testing will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 14 for Cleveland Clinic patients and on Monday for UH patients. The testing site will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

The on-site testing will be located in the garage of the jointly-owned W. O. Walker Building in University Circle, 10524 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.


PHOTOS BY Jacob Chabowski / Lakewood Observer

Upon arrival to the drive-through location, patients will stay in their car and present their doctor’s order. They will remain in their car as a sample is collected.

This collaboration propels the capability for rapid testing results to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Northeast Ohio.

See all of Jacob's photos at: http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... -cleveland

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Details on the Cleveland Clinic “drive through” testing. DO NOT think you can go get tested without a doctor’s order!

- For drive-thru testing, you MUST have a provider order. You cannot just arrive on scene and demand a test. "Worried well" would overwhelm the system and make it unsafe for EVERYONE.
- If you develop symptoms that are not life-threatening, the FIRST STEP is to call your PCP or set up a virtual visit through your respective health system. A provider will screen you and determine if testing is necessary.
- DO NOT got to straight to the Emergency Room unless you are critically ill or are instructed to do so by your provider. Going to the ER when you are not critically ill will put everyone at risk, especially healthcare workers who need to stay healthy to help the sick. HELP US, HELP YOU!
- Obviously, as always, if you are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, or stroke, or have another life threatening emergency, call 911
- Be emotionally prepared to see a potential rise in "new cases" as testing begins. This is because we will now identify cases that have been there. It will feel more real because it's on paper but DO NOT PANIC.
- Stay safe and healthy, wash your hands, and most of all BE KIND TO EACH OTHER. Everyone is scared and we are all in this together.

Boy, you got to love the cooperation between the Clinic and Metro Hospital!

Metro patients don't even exist as far as the Clinic is concerned.

The Clinic, still, it's all about the $.

In another thread almost five years ago I said this.... "If someone was tasked with constructing the most inefficient health care delivery system possible, it would be darn close to what we have today. Truly Rube Goldberg."

Our healthcare delivery system should have been declared a national emergency years ago. That "surprise billing" is a thing, and even remotely tolerated just shows how bad it has become. Never mind giant "non-profit" corporations racking up obscene profits. Never mind practitioners greatly limiting their own numbers. Never mind that in the U.S. so-called "health care" (sick care) now consumes almost 20% of our GDP, almost double the amount consumed by all other first-world countries. Etc., etc. etc....

I don't have a solution. I recommend trying to stay healthy especially as you get older. Because the health care system in this country is primarily concerned with its own well-being....