Mayo Clinic to open COVID-19 testing site in Sparta

SPARTA, Wis. (WKBT) – Mayo Clinic Health System will open a second COVID-19 testing site in Sparta, Monday, April 27.

In March, Mayo Clinic Health System began testing symptomatic and pre-procedural patients for COVID-19 at a drive-through site in La Crosse. More than 1,000 patients have been tested at the site. “Residents in Monroe, Jackson, Juneau, and Vernon counties have limited access to testing for COVID-19. To address this issue, as some of the counties have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases the last number of weeks, we will be making it easier for them to receive testing closer to home,” says Paul Molling, D.O., Primary Care chair, Mayo Clinic Health System. “We’ve been approached by several entities to do this and we feel this resource is invaluable to the residents we serve in these communities.”

The hours of operation will be noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Mayo Clinic Health System Sparta COVID-19 testing site will operate under the former emergency room canopy behind the hospital building along K Street.

Patients must call the Mayo Clinic Health System nurse triage line to be screened before coming to the clinic. Mayo Clinic Health System will also be working with county health departments and other healthcare facilities if a patient who fits the criteria needs to be tested.

“We ask that patients who are concerned about symptoms consistent with COVID-19 contact to contact their clinic, their provider, or contact the Mayo Clinic Nurse Triage line for appropriate screening. If needed they will be referred appropriately to the testing center for testing,” says Kevin Fitzgerald, M.D., Family Medicine chair, Mayo Clinic Health System. “Providing this dedicated testing location away from other clinical spaces will help limit possible exposures for staff, patients, and visitors in other patient-care areas.”

Patients experiencing symptoms should take the following steps:
·      Call their primary care clinic/provider/Mayo Clinic Health System nurse triage line for a phone screening.

Those who are not a Mayo Clinic Health System patient may call the number below and say they would like to be screened for COVID-19. Staff will help register the patient into our system. Please call the Mayo Clinic Health System in Sparta at 608-269-1770 to begin your screening process.
·      Those who meet the criteria for testing will be directed to the drive-through location.
·      At the drive-through location, Mayo Clinic Health System staff will collect specimens using appropriate precautions.
·      Specimens will then be sent to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for analysis, with results expected in 24 to 48 hours.
·      Patients will be advised of the next steps.

To receive results in a timely manner, patients can set up a Patient Online Services account on the Mayo Clinic Health System website or through an app on their phone.

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