On Monday, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center opened a new appointment-only COVID-19 testing location in collaboration with CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society.
The drive-thru site is located on the first floor of the CAS parking garage at 2540 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus. With capacity for up to 1,000 tests a day, the OSU and CAS collaboration will offer tests from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays.
“We know that testing is an important tool in our battle against COVID-19,” says Dr. Andrew Thomas, interim co-leader and chief clinical officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center, in a press release. “We remain committed to supporting the central Ohio community and to meeting the increased demand for COVID-19 testing. At this point, our focus is testing individuals with COVID-19 symptoms and those with significant exposures to people known to have COVID-19. Knowing your COVID status can help prevent you from spreading this virus to family members, friends and others you come in close contact with.”
The new testing location comes as the Wexner Medical Center receives support from the Ohio National Guard as part of a statewide effort to ramp up testing and lessen the strain on hospitals caused by the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.
According to The New York Times, Ohio hospitals currently average 80 percent I.C.U. occupancy, slightly higher than the national average of 77 percent.
Of the 2,300 Ohio National Guard members mobilized by Governor Mike DeWine at the end of 2021, approximately 50 were sent to Wexner Medical Center.
DeWine announced Monday that COVID-19 testing will be further expanded in an effort by the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio National Guard and the Ohio Hospital Association. The CAS and Wexner Medical Center location is the only new site listed for the Columbus area. Additional testing expansions will come to eight other Ohio cities including Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton. About 300 Ohio National Guard members will support those sites.
“As the demand for COVID-19 testing increases, adding to the pressure our hospitals are facing, members of the Ohio National Guard will continue to play a critical role in the state’s response,” he says. “I commend Guard members for their commitment to their fellow Ohioans as they answer the call to serve.”
The surge in COVID-19 cases has been credited to a number of factors including the more contagious Omicron variant, a relatively low number of Americans who have received vaccine boosters and increased gatherings around end of the year holidays.
The Wexner Medical Center last week announced new research, shared online ahead of print publication in the journal Cancer Cell, that shows COVID-19 booster shots likely provide “significantly stronger and broader protection for patients with cancer” against the virus.
The researchers urged cancer patients to get a booster shot as soon as possible and described the two-shot series of mRNA vaccination as “woefully inadequate” at providing lasting protection for immune-compromised patients.
To schedule a test at the Wexner Medical Center’s new location, patients must have an OSU MyChart account or contact the COVID Call Center at 614-293-4000.
Find more information on COVID-19 testing, vaccinations and news, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Cameron Carr is the associate editor. Feedback welcome at ccarr@cityscenemediagroup.com.
