Drive-through testing available for Fort Worth-area residents with coronavirus symptoms
Tarrant County residents looking to be tested for the novel coronavirus can visit four drive-through test sites operated by Urgent Care for Kids.
Urgent Care for Kids has locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and has two sites in Fort Worth and locations in Mansfield and Arlington that offer drive-through COVID-19 testing for both adults and kids. People seeking testing do not need to be existing patients of Urgent Care for Kids, said Brian White the company’s CEO.
Tarrant County lacks federally supported drive-through testing sites, like the ones operated at the American Airlines Center and The Ellis Davis Field House in Dallas, leaving Tarrant County residents with fewer options to access testing. While some sites have opened in Tarrant, they have been primarily for first responders and patients being monitored at home.
Urgent Care for Kids’ sites will be an additional route for residents to be tested. White said Urgent Care for Kids “bootstrapped” their sites, investing in the necessary equipment and supplies as a private company.
While Urgent Care for Kids normally focuses on pediatric urgent care, its clinics have seen a majority of its patients shift away from physical visits to the company’s telemedicine platform, White said.
“It has made it easier for us to say, let’s really focus our resources, our time, our human capital to testing because that’s where the greatest need is,” White said.
In order to qualify for testing, residents can either participate in a telemedicine screening online or visit a drive-through location where patients will be screened in person.
The only requirement: that patients exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, which can include fever, shortness of breath, a dry cough and more, White said.
If a patient qualifies for testing, they will be directed to the nearest clinic and swabbed from their vehicle by a health care provider. Patients can expect to receive results from a private lab within one to three days, White said. The clinics report test results to the Tarrant County Public Health Department.
Urgent Care for Kids has been operating the sites for about two weeks now, and has tested over 100 patients so far, White said.
The biggest challenge was first securing enough personal protective equipment, like gloves and face masks, White said. Supplies were secured from multiple — and even unusual avenues — like gloves from the office supply chain Staples, equipment from Tractor Supply Co. and donations of homemade masks.
“Now that we’ve scratched and clawed and found supplies for all of that, we’ve been able to do it now successfully for a couple weeks to have a pretty good system in place,” White said. “We’ll test on a daily basis until our supplies above that par level have been exhausted.”
With locations across the DFW area, supplies can easily be shuttled between sites to ensure one location isn’t overwhelmed, White said.
Urgent Care for Kids accepts various forms of health insurance, and White said there are options for people who may lack health insurance.
“In addition to this, we’re discounting all self-pay visits to $50 and waiving co-pays for those who are insured,” Care for Kids’ website reads.
Urgent Care for Kids’ locations in Tarrant County include:
Urgent Care for Kids Alliance, 3400 Texas Sage Trail, Fort Worth, 76177
Weekdays: 3-9 p.m., weekends: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Urgent Care for Kids Hulen, 3000 S Hulen St., No. 180, Fort Worth, 76109
Weekdays: 9a.m. - 3 p.m., weekends: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Urgent Care for Kids Mansfield, 2251 Matlock Rd., No. 103, Mansfield, 76063
Weekdays: 9a.m. - 3 p.m., weekends: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Urgent Care for Kids Arlington, 6109 South Cooper St., Arlington, 76001
Weekdays: 3-9 p.m., weekends: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Drive-through testing available for Fort Worth-area residents with coronavirus symptoms."
