UPMC opens coronavirus specimen collection site in Hanover

Posted: May 27, 2020 / 10:33 AM EDT / Updated: May 27, 2020 / 10:33 AM EDT

This is University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, March 10, 2020. Cherell Harrington, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, March 11, 2020, naming Allegheny County and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as defendants, gave birth to her third child at UPMC’s Magee-Women’s Hospital in November 2017. She says medical staff collected her urine without her consent and tested her for drugs. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

HANOVER, Pa. (WHTM) – UPMC Pinnacle opened an additional specimen collection site for patients to be tested for COVID-19 in York County.

Patients who are scheduled for surgical procedures or who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will now be able to have their specimen collected at 120 N. Stephen Place, Hanover.

This specimen collection is not open to the public, and walk-in patients will not be tested.

If testing is sought, the patient must be evaluated by their care provider and an appointment will be scheduled.

“As we continue to restore essential services, the need for testing has expanded. This location now offers the residents of York and Adams counties an additional convenient, local option for specimen collection,” stated Michael Gaskins, president of UPMC Memorial and UPMC Hanover.

UPMC says the specimens will be safely transported to a commercial laboratory and results will be returned within one to three days. Anyone whose sample is taken should self-isolate until the results come back.

UPMC says anyone with a high fever or more prominent breathing trouble should go to a local emergency department for evaluation and care. If possible, call ahead so they can plan for the patient’s arrival.