Jackson Heights Life

I have gotten 2 COVID tests in the past few weeks (no symptoms, just planning to start seeing my parents/in-laws again and wanted the reassurance before seeing them).  I thought it would be useful to have a thread to share experiences at the various test sites in JH.

1) Stat Care Urgent Care (80-10 Northern Blvd)
-Required appointment which I made online
-Required I fill out registration and all paperwork online ahead of time
-I had to pay a $50 urgent care copay (the test itself is free but the urgent care billed for the actual visit)
-I was in and out in ~20 min
-Was told the results would take 3-5 days.  I got tested on a Friday and my result was available on Healow (patient portal) on Monday.  It might have been even quicker but they entered my email wrong in the registration so I couldn't log into the portal over the weekend.

2) Elmhurst Hospital (tent in front of ER entrance off Baxter Ave)
-No appointments
-Supposedly opened at 8am but they didn't open the tent until 8:50am.  I got there at 8:05 and was 12th in line, there were another 20 people behind me by the time they opened the tent.
-Registration was the bottleneck, seemed like they were training a few new people this morning
-Staff was extremely nice and professional once I got inside, also very fastidious w protocols (changed gloves, purell-ed hands, and wiped chairs and pens w disinfecting wipes between every patient, tripled checked IDs to make sure patient labels were going on the right samples etc)
-Took my insurance info but it's not required and test is free, no cost for visit.
-Didn't leave testing site until 9:55a
-Was told results would be available online (MyChart) in 3-5 days, I can update with actual time when I get my results
-You can also get an antibody test if you request it but it's at a different location in the hospital, I didn't do it so don't have info about wait time/process

2) Elmhurst Hospital (tent in front of ER entrance off Baxter Ave)
-Was told results would be available online (MyChart) in 3-5 days, I can update with actual time when I get my results

Updating to say my results were available in MyChart this morning, so a 24h turnaround time.  Pretty excellent.

The strange thing is that the Northern/Broadway is actually a satellite testing site for Elmhurst Hospital. So it really makes no sense to me why their lab times would differ so extremely.

Discouraged about testing here. Also no symptoms but suspect I had a milder case sometime in March. Got tested at Woodside Houses and received a negative result about a month ago. Then a week or so later got a letter saying that the batch of tests that included mine had problems and I needed to retest. In the meantime, I got an insurance claim that said not due at this time but that it was over $300. - not free. My main interest is the antibodies test but am not sure it's worth it right now with results and fees all over the place.

From the NYS Dept of Health website (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing):
"If you go to a test site run by New York State, there is never any charge for your test.
If you go to a test site operated by local governments, private companies including pharmacies and medical practices or not-for-profit organizations, you are advised to check with the testing site and your insurer in advance of being tested to confirm you will not be responsible for any fees associated with your test."
So if you go to one of the HHC sites you should absolutely not be charged for the test.  Antibody testing is another story.

There's a site on Junction Blvd in Corona across from the Food Bazaar that offers rapid testing by appointment. It's free and run by the city. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-rapid-testing.page It's one of several sites across all boroughs and there are locations in areas like Harlem, Chelsea, Fort Greene, Jamaica, etc.  NY Times mentions it in this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-testing-fast.html

I went today and it was easy-in, easy-out. No one in line besides me, since I think appointments are spaced out every 20 minutes. They promised results within 24 hours on MyChart (an app that you sign up for). If you click on the link and don't see Corona listed at all, it means they are out of available appointments. But just refresh the link early the following morning and there should be more appointments posted. Usually they are a few days out. For example, if you check on a Monday, the appointments listed will only be for Wednesday of the same week.

Excerpt from NY Times:
"The city is also offering a popular new option, called rapid testing, with results in 24 hours. You have to schedule an appointment online in advance, and they tend to get booked quickly. There are four of these rapid test clinics in Manhattan — in Chelsea, Central Harlem, the Upper West Side and Washington Heights; two clinics in Brooklyn — in Crown Heights and Fort Greene; two in Queens — in Corona and Jamaica; and one in the Bronx in Morrisania. The clinics have the capacity to provide only about 500 total tests per day.

“They have been filling up fast,” the city’s new health commissioner, Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, said in an interview. “We’re still in the process of ramping up our capacity.”

I had a covid (pcr, the only one offered) test taken at the Broadway/Northern (Sports Authority) location on Thurs last week. Still waiting on results six days later... previously test results would come back in 2-3 days

Thanks for sharing all these experiences. For those who have done the new rapid tests, do they collect a sample with a nasopharyngeal swab (way deep into the nose) or a nasal swab (inside of the nostril)?

Just curious as the latter method seems much less uncomfortable and is becoming more common.

The one I had this week at rapid testing in Corona seemed quite deep and pretty uncomfortable, although I got over it quickly.

I got tested on Friday AM at the Northern Blvd/Broadway location. Got results Monday PM on MyChart.

Test result turnaround time really appears to be a crapshoot.