UPDATE: The COVID-19 testing location at Dellwood Recreation Center has been postponed, announced Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones on Monday, March 30 at about 3 p.m.
Earlier that day, the phone lines for the testing location opened at 9 a.m. Platform Health Care Solutions, the company who will be running the testing location, said they received more than 400 phone calls before noon.
“We were prepared for 100 a day,” said Mike Jones of Platform Health Care Solutions. “It just put so much pressure that we had to back away and re-evaluate. The patients are emotional and scared.”
Mike Jones said the calls came from throughout Missouri and Illinois. They are now referring North St. Louis County residents to call Christian Hospital Northeast. Mike Jones said that they evaluated the number of calls that Christian Northeast receives and gaged their potential traffic on that. However, possibly because of the publicity the Dellwood location received, the call volume was much higher than they anticipated, he said.
In Mayor Reggie Jones’ statement, he said, “Based on the number of calls it shows that there is an overwhelming need to add several locations in North County to help people become more aware and to help stop the spread of this virus. We will continue to advocate making sure that happens. We are referring all potential patients in North County that fit the testing criteria to call 314-653-5000.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones has been very concerned about the lack of access to COVID-19 testing in North St. Louis County and North St. Louis city, he said.
“We need those tests,” Jones said.
Two weeks ago, he started “working hard” to try to find a solution. He spoke with Mike Jones of Platform Health Care Solutions, who reached out to a testing laboratory. Now starting this week, Jones said the City of Dellwood will be providing mobile testing for COVID-19.
The testing will take place 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday in the parking lot at Dellwood Recreation Center, 10266 West Florissant Ave. Jones said the location is convenient for both North County and North City residents to access. He is expecting about 20 to 25 people a day to seek testing.
The testing will be free, and the lab will be reimbursed by the federal government. The registration phone line will be operational as of Monday, March 30. People can call 855-724-1653 to complete registration. People can get tested with a doctor’s referral. If they don’t have that, then they can be transferred to a telehealth call for a screening and medical history.
Mayors from surrounding municipalities are “100 percent behind me,” he said, noting that it has provided a solution to lack of testing access for many North County mayors.
Platform Health Care Solutions was in talks with St. Louis County about opening a site at Jamestown Mall, Jones said, but the idea was stalled.
“I don’t know what happened with those talks,” Jones said. “All I know is I have control over my lot. I wanted to make it available to them. And they said sure we can do it.”
Health officials advise people not to show up to testing locations without calling first. The number again is 855-724-1653.
