Elmore Community Hospital, along with local and county officials, announced on Tuesday during a press conference plans for a COVID-19 collection site dedicated to testing for the coronavirus.
"We are seeing patients now," Ivy Creek Healthcare CEO Mike Bruce said.
The collection site is housed in a military-style tent and is located next to the entrance of the hospital's emergency room.
Bruce said anyone who thinks they may have COVID-19 should call the Alabama Department of Public Health at 888-264-2256 or call the hospital at 334-514-3713. Both phone numbers are open 24 hours a day and the collection site is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
As of Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., there are two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elmore County and 39 across the state. The number will continue to grow, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
As for gaining access to the coronavirus test, Bruce said the hospital has a specific protocol to determine who receives testing and how the test is administered.
"We've got a process of doing this," he said. "When you call on the phone, you are going to get to someone who is going to do a screening and ask a lot of different questions."
He said the answers to those questions will determine if a person needs to come to the collection facility.
"From that (those answers), your doctor or our doctors in the ER will make that assessment if you're eligible to take a test."
He said an appointment will be scheduled at the collection site if testing criteria are met.
As for the test, Bruce said it is similar to a giving a specimen for a flu test that involves a nasal or throat swab.
He confirmed the testing facility is open to anyone needing a test; it is not open to just residents of Elmore County.
Bruce said testing will continue for as long as it takes.
"There is no real timeframe," he said. "This is new to all of us."
Bruce said the hospital has collected 37 tests since Thursday when the collection site opened and it typically takes 24 to 72 hours to receive the test results.
Elmore County Commission chairman Troy Stubbs encouraged the public to regard the collection site as a benefit to Elmore County and its residents.
"I hope that we will all welcome this testing site here in Elmore County," Stubbs said. "The true benefit to this is people will have the opportunity to call ahead and schedule an appointment rather than walking into doctors offices and emergency rooms with the potential of contaminating that location, the nurses, medical assistants and other patients.
“It is a blessing we are one of 20 locations designated by ADPH for this site. I hope the community will embrace this."
The Ivy Creek Hospital system has instituted a variety of measures to keep staff, patients and visitors safe including allowing one visitor per patient and taking the temperature of everyone who enters the hospital.
The hospital system is also promoting social distancing (keeping a distance of 6 feet between other people), handwashing and using sanitizer when soap and water is not available and avoiding large crowds.
