St. Peter’s Health Partners and Albany Med are suspending COVID-19 community testing. Effective immediately, St. Peter’s Health Partners will only be testing symptomatic health care providers at its Albany Memorial Campus, 600 Northern Blvd. in Albany. Drive-up testing will continue until 9 p.m. Friday, March 20 at the Albany Med testing site adjacent to the Emergency Department at 43 New Scotland Avenue, Albany. The Albany Med site will remain open only to examine and evaluate patients and will continue to be operated by emergency medical staff.
Albany Med and St. Peter’s Health Partners understand this is a time of great anxiety for the community. We want to reassure everyone that we are continuing to work with all regional hospitals to face ongoing and developing challenges related to this pandemic.
The difficult decision was made in order to conserve testing resources for those at highest risk, including inpatients, symptomatic direct care workers and those with high-risk exposure to the virus. This also will serve as a conservation measure for supplies to test the inpatient population at Albany Med and in SPHP hospitals under investigation for COVID-19.
People who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, but have not been determined by a doctor to require hospital care, are advised to follow the recommended 14-day home quarantine and any treatment regimen recommended by their doctor.
We are committed to doing all we can to provide the highest quality care possible to any hospitalized COVID-19 patient, should the situation arise. If you suspect you are sick with COVID-19, follow the steps below to care for yourself and help prevent the disease from spreading to other people:
- Stay home except to get medical care, and separate yourself from other people and animals in your home.
- Call your health care provider if your illness is worsening.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes.
- Clean your hands often.
Albany Med and St. Peter’s Health Partners continue to work with the CDC and other public health authorities to protect our colleagues and the people we serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the many steps we are taking to ensure we protect patients and colleagues in all our care sites, including:
- Encouraging those who are ill with fever, cough or shortness of breath to call ahead to our care sites;
- Following CDC guidelines for use of personal protective equipment;
- Restricting visitors;
- Signage at entry points; and
- Developing alternative locations for ill patients, among others.
The CDC has the most current information about the virus, including everything you need to know about how the virus spreads, how it’s treated, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you get sick. You can learn more by visiting the CDC website, which is updated frequently.
