News & PR

Hammond-Henry Hospital Opens Temporary Drive-Thru Respiratory Clinic

March 30, 2020

(Geneseo, Il - March 24, 2020) Hammond-Henry Hospital has opened a Respiratory Symptom Screening Drive-Thru Clinic Tuesday, March 24, at 7 am, at 600 N College Ave., Geneseo. Hours are 7 am - 7 pm Monday - Friday, and 8 am - 2 pm Saturday.   Individuals who have been referred to the Drive-Thru Clinic by their health care provider or by calling the hotline should enter at the Hammond-Henry Hospital main entrance on College Avenue, proceed toward the ambulance bay, and follow the cones. The temporary Drive-Thru Clinic will help screen, evaluate and treat respiratory symptoms while limiting local transmission of infectious illnesses, including influenza, COVID-19, and other illnesses, providing a safer alternative to the Emergency Department, Urgent Care / Walk-in Clinics, and physician offices.

How to Know if You Should Use the Drive-Thru Clinic

  • If you are not ill, you do not need any testing. Simply continue to follow the Social Isolation procedures currently in effect.
  • If you are ill, contact your physician/health care provider and answer a few simple eligibility questions. Then, if so advised, call the Hotline at 309-944-9198 to provide registration information before coming to the Drive-Thru Clinic.
  • If you are ill, do not have a primary physician/health care provider, or cannot reach your provider, you may call the Hotline at 309-944-9198 to answer the eligibility questions and complete the registration information.
  • In any event, you will not be screened without completing the eligibility/registration process.
  • If you do not meet the eligibility guidelines for COVID-19 screening, you may still visit your health care provider or any of the Hammond-Henry Urgent Care clinics for evaluation and treatment of your current illness.

The Drive-Thru Clinic will not automatically provide COVID-19 testing upon request. Test kits are in limited supply so the CDC is recommending that valid criteria be used to decide who should be tested in order to ensure that those most vulnerable are tested first.

COVID-19 tests currently take several days for results to be returned, and patients will be notified when this occurs. Testing for influenza A, B, and strep throat will be administered as appropriate at the Drive-Thru, with results of both influenza and strep testing provided on-site as well as appropriate treatment and directions for care. Insurance will be billed.

“Our primary goals are to help the community weather this storm together and provide a convenient avenue to help those who are ill, while protecting all others,” commented Mark Kuhn, CEO, Hammond-Henry Hospital.