Golden Valley offering drive-thru COVID-19 testing for their clients
Drive-through testing for coronavirus is newly available in Stanislaus and Merced counties, but it’s not open to everyone.
On Tuesday, Golden Valley Health Clinics issued a press release stating that many of their medical clinics are still open, and they are offering coronavirus testing.
GVHC have two drive-thru viral testing sites, one in Ceres and one in Merced, but these are available only for GVHC clients from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a referral from their provider.
The press release noted that some GVHC locations will function only for sick visits (no appointments needed), and others will continue with routine, well visits but by appointment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to call ahead to any clinics and emergency rooms before seeking medical care.
At GVHC well clinic visits, all patients will be screened at the front door. If a patient has a fever or symptoms, such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, the encounter will be converted to a telephone visit or a sick clinic visit.
GVHC is also providing telephone medical visits, offering health care professional services including consultations, prescription refills and other patient services. GVHC clients can call 866-682-4842 to schedule a telehealth visit.
GVHC is temporarily suspending non-urgent dental care, but emergency dental services can be obtained at their Merced Dental and Turlock Main St. Dental Clinics.
“People can establish themselves as Golden Valley clients by calling or texting 866-682-4842,” said Kulpreet Dhesi, GVHC communications manager, “But because of the high demand at this challenging time, they may experience a delay. We are trying to serve as many people as we can.”
Additional information about GVHC and their response to COVID-19 for the communities they serve, visit https://www.gvhc.org/
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
