Drive-thru COVID-19 testing centres seeing higher volumes

The GRH site saw 645 people tested on September 10

For three months, the Grand River Hospital (GRH) has used a drive-thru to test for COVID-19.

When it opened, staff initially saw 300 to 350 patients with numbers continuing to rise. 

"We've been extremely busy, the staff are fantastic, and they're really pulling together as a team, and are working together to improve our efficiencies," said Sarah Sullivan, Operations Site Manager for the COVID-19 Testing Drive-Thru at GRH. 

On September 10, the drive-thru hit a new daily record when they served 645 patients.

And with cooler temperatures approaching, the testing centre has been working with community and hospital partners to develop new strategies. 

"Just looking at whatever opportunities there are in the community to still make the testing as accessible and efficient as possible," mentioned Sullivan. 

With the increase in testing demand, Sullivan added they have hired more staff.

"I think it might have something to do with school and we're seeing a lot of students, university students, and teachers, so we have increased our staffing numbers," he said.

However, the drive-thru is not the only option to get tested.

The Cambridge-North Dumfries COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) is another location where testing has seen an uptick. 

"We've seen over the last few months about 200 to 300 more patients are coming in for testing. compared to the previous month," said Julia Ropotyn, coordinator for the Cambridge-North Dumfries Assessment Centre at CMH. 

Ropotyn mentioned since they are seeing an increase in testing, they are currently looking to move the centre to an off-site location "that will allow us to expand our capabilities in terms of the number of tests we can do on-site and the number of clinicians we can have on-site." 

She added they run differently than the drive-thru, as patients need to make an appointment. 

The Cambridge-North Dumfries COVID-19 Assessment Centre is open seven days a week (Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

The COVID-19 Testing Drive-Thru at GRH is located at 137 Glasgow Street in Kitchener, open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

St. Mary's General Hospital COVID-19 testing clinic is located at 50 Bathurst Drive, Unit 1, Waterloo, open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.