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Health Facility Offers Curbside Blood Work in Times of COVID-19
By: Claudia Cisneros
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The COVID-19 emergency has pushed everyone, specially health professionals, to get creative to be able to accommodate patients. A health facility in Jackson, Ohio is now offering a curbside blood lab that allows people to remain in their car during while having their blood drawn.
Trenda Newell, the certified phlebotomist in charge of the blood work in Adena Health Center in Jackson, says they are doing drive-up labs, “trying to accommodate the patients that shouldn’t be coming into the building for their safety and ours, for the COVID-19.”
The idea started after some of their cancer patients in Chillicothe did not want to go inside the healthcare setting due to the vulnerability of their immune systems.
But when other patients in need of other blood tests stopped coming in, the site director, Marsha Baisden, says they decided to set up a tent in the parking lot, put up some pointer ads and started offering the curbside blood work.
“As we started doing this we started seeing a lot of the patients coming back.”
Debora Dunn, a Jackson resident drove-up to have her annual check-up.
“Is really convenient. You just drive up.”
Baisden underscores that they do not provide COVID-19 testing, but blood work for any other reason.
“We serve anyone. If they have an order we’ll do their lab work for them even if they are not seeing an Adena provider.”
She also says that no appointments are needed for the curbside lab draws in either of the three facilities offering this service in Jackson, Waverly, and Chillicothe.