Meritus closes drive-thru COVID testing operation north of Hagerstown
After two years and approximately 200,000 tests, Meritus Health has closed its COVID-19 drive-thru testing center along Crayton Boulevard, the nonprofit announced Friday.
Meritus is still offering free COVID-19 testing, but officials decided to close the drive-thru due to the community's positivity rate and the decrease in demand for testing using the drive-thru, according to Meritus Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Carrie Adams.
The rolling seven-day positivity rate, for tests collected by Meritus Health, is 1.7%. The Maryland Department of Health reported the same positivity rate for Washington County as of Thursday.
"We have three patients hospitalized for COVID at Meritus Medical Center, and our need for drive-thru testing has significantly dropped, from nearly 1,000 people a day, to 100 people a day," Adams wrote in an email.
The decision to close the drive-thru, "like all decisions related to COVID, was made to properly support the current need of the community," Adams wrote.
Closing the drive-thru allows Meritus to "properly scale our resources to support the current need," Adams wrote. Testing equipment will be kept on site in case there is another surge of novel coronavirus cases and Meritus needs to "quickly redeploy staff to the drive-thru."
Most of the testing requests Meritus gets at this point are for work, travel or medical procedure requirements, she wrote.
People who need such COVID-19 testing may walk into any Meritus Medical Lab between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays for testing, according to the health system's website.
Anyone with COVID symptoms or who has been exposed to COVID must call 301-790-8670 to make an appointment at the 13620 Crayton Blvd. medical plaza for a testing appointment, the website states.
"We believe access to free testing is paramount to reducing community spread, and have been committed to free testing for two years," Adams wrote.
There is no limit to how many times a patient can get a COVID test, she added. If a patient is insured, Meritus will bill insurance but will not charge the patient a co-pay or other fee.
Starting Friday, the hospital also changed its COVID vaccine clinic hours at Robinwood Professional Center to one day a week, Wednesdays. For adults or children, vaccines are available by appointment from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and for walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Starting Thursday, April 7, Meritus also will offer COVID pediatric vaccines from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursdays at its pediatric urgent care, Meritus After Hours at 186 Eastern Blvd.
Meritus is offering initial vaccine doses as well as boosters for eligible patients. The health system offers the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
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Will Washington County Health Department testing change?
The Washington County Health Department also is making scheduling changes for its COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics, switching to its spring schedule, spokeswoman Danielle Stahl said.
The winter testing site off Lee Street is now closed as the health department moves back to its previous spring testing sites, Stahl said.
Free walk-up COVID testing will be available:
Mondays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ Reformed Church, 130 W. Franklin St.
Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hagerstown farmers market lot, 25 W. Church St.
The health department also will contact local municipalities to see if officials want mobile testing clinics scheduled, Stahl said. The testing clinic schedule, including mobile clinics, is available at the health department's website at https://washcohealth.org/covidtesting.
Stahl said the health department continues to provide free at-home COVID test kits to the public through the Washington County Free Library system and at the health department's offices at 1302 Pennsylvania Ave. and 925 N. Burhans Blvd. Folks can walk in the lobby at either health department office and ask for a free kit.
Call the library first to see if they have at-home test kits in stock.
Are there any vaccination clinics scheduled?
The county health department also continues to offer mobile vaccine clinics.
The health department recently added Fridays to its vaccination clinic schedule so there are clinics on Wednesdays and Fridays at its 1302 Pennsylvania Ave. office, Stahl said. Those clinics, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., are for ages 5 and older.
The mobile vaccination clinics scheduled include:
Monday, April 4, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for ages 12 and older at St. Marks Lutheran Church, 601 Washington Ave.
Tuesday, April 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 12 and older at the Boonsboro American Legion, 710 N. Main St.
Thursday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for ages 12 and older at the Maugansville Ruritan, 18007 Maugans Ave.
The vaccines, like the tests, are free, Stahl said.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Meritus Health has closed its COVID-19 drive-thru testing operation
