UF Health bringing testing to The Villages
University of Florida Health is teaming up with The Villages Health and state health and emergency management officials to bring drive-thru virus testing to the region Monday.Get more news about
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“We are so excited for Villages residents that they are going to have this greater access to testing,” said Gary Lester, vice president of community relations for The Villages. “We’re so grateful for Gov. DeSantis and our friends at University of Florida Health for bringing this higher level of care to our community.”
The large-scale effort expects to test hundreds of people daily for the next five days at a site now in place at The Villages Polo Club.
An appointment is required, and details on how to request one will be forthcoming. Testing is a critical part of tracking and containing infectious diseases like COVID-19.
But shortages in testing sites have become a central concern in increasingly urgent communications among governors and federal officials.
“We know demand for testing will be much higher than we can deliver initially and we ask for patience as this ramps up,” said Jeff Lowenkron, chief medical director of The Villages Health.
Preregistration to receive an FDA-approved clinical test will involve an assessment for symptoms, travel and exposure history. Depending on the severity of their illness, people could potentially be further evaluated onsite or at a UF Health facility or sent home to self-quarantine while awaiting test results. Those tested at the drive-thru site will receive results within 72 hours.
Participants are asked to arrive by golf cart, but those in cars also will be tested.
People who do not yet have symptoms or meet standard clinical testing criteria but still want to be tested will have the opportunity to volunteer for testing through a UF research study that enables them to receive testing as part of an epidemiological protocol known as community surveillance.
The purpose of the study is to assess the degree of asymptomatic viral shedding at the onset of a COVID-19 outbreak. Researchers say it is a valuable public health activity to identify people with early disease or asymptomatic shedding of virus.It was a warm morning at the polo club, where disposable gloves that matched the color of the sunny sky were distributed to medical students sitting a chair apart from each other to encourage social distancing,
“I thought it would be a unique experience that I couldn’t get literally any other time in my life,” said Kayleigh Porritt, 22.
Dr. David Nelson, UF’s senior vice president for health affairs and president of UF Health, praised the students for their willingness to help.
“We’re going to work hard to improve the health of this community, which will also help preserve our health care workforce during this epidemic,” he said. “And you guys are going to be the ones who helped make it happen.”
