A drive-through site where members of the community can be tested for COVID-19 will open at UCF on Monday, UCF announced on Friday.
The appointment-based testing site will only be open on the weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., UCF spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said in the news release.
Gilmartin said the university partnered with Aventus Biolabs, a private genetics testing lab owned and operated by the healthcare company Aventus Health, to facilitate the testing site.
The testing site will be proctored at Garage A, located at UCF’s main campus, and will be a drive-through testing site.
Gilmartin said in a Sunday email the location was selected because it is easy to access from the main road and works well for the traffic flow of drive-through testing.
Although Aventus Health is running the site, Gilmartin said in an email that UCF is involved in the facilitation of the testing.
“A team from UCF that includes Student Health Services, Emergency Management,” Gilmartin said in the email. “UCFPD has been working with Aventus for the past week to coordinate logistics.”
Individuals must first be screened by a healthcare provider and prescribed a test, and individuals must have an appointment ahead of time — those who do not have an appointment will be turned away, according to the release.
The testing site will have up to 250 tests per day and will take an average of about 10 minutes or less from start to finish, the release states.
“Patients must be screened for symptoms by a healthcare provider before a test can be prescribed to those who qualify,” Dr. Michael Deichen, associate vice president of UCF Student Health Services, said in the Friday release.
After the patient has been screened by a provider, the Aventus client services team will reach out to the individual to complete all necessary paperwork and then schedule an appointment for testing.
Individuals can expect test results within 24 to 48 hours after the test has been administered.
“Upon arrival during a scheduled time, individuals will drive through and receive the testing with a swab designated specifically for them,” Gilmartin said.
“Most insurance companies cover the cost of the test, but for those who don’t Aventus is charging the Medicare rate of $51 per test,” Gilmartin said in a Sunday email.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, a current UCF public affairs doctoral student and the individual who helped connect Aventus with UCF, said an increase in COVID-19 testing sites is critically important in Central Florida and throughout the state.
“I am thrilled to see this partnership come to life and know it will bring us one step closer to overcoming this pandemic,” Eskamani, who represents District 47, said.
The individuals who qualify for testing at UCF may not meet all of the criteria required by the Florida Department of Health in order to be tested at a county testing site, Gilmartin said in the release. Individuals must still be prescreened for symptoms and advised by healthcare providers to be tested.
Orange County has a testing site that is open daily and does not require an appointment, according to the county’s website. The drive-through testing site — located at the Orange County Convention Center’s North Concourse Parking Lot — requires individuals to meet the following criteria:
- Exhibit a fever of 99.6 or higher, and also
- Experiencing respiratory symptoms OR
- Have a preexisting condition, including, but not limited to:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Chronic lung disease
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Autoimmune disease
Appointments
UCF students can obtain an ordered test from Student Health Services telehealth by calling 407-823-2701.
For UCF faculty and staff members, their ordered test can be obtained from their primary care provider by contacting UCF Health at 407-266-3627.
Aventus can connect individuals with a telehealth provider by calling 855-282-4860.
“To overcome this pandemic, leaders in healthcare must come together and utilize cutting edge technology to accomplish that goal. Aventus and UCF partnering to provide testing is a pivotal step in that direction,” said Dr. Nagi Youssef, president and chairman of Aventus Health.
Gilmartin said in a Sunday email to Knight News the testing site does not currently have a set date that it will end.
