Drive-Through Testing Center for COVID-19 Opens at Baton Rouge General Mid City

BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, the Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness announced the opening of a drive- through Community Testing Center for COVID-19 at Baton Rouge General’s Mid City campus. The testing site will be staffed by clinicians from local healthcare providers: Baton Rouge General, Our Lady of the Lake, Ochsner-Baton Rouge, Woman’s Hospital, and Baton Rouge Clinic.

The testing center aims to reduce the number of patients going to local emergency rooms for COVID-19 testing and reduce the risk of exposure to patients, visitors and medical staff, as it eliminates the need for patients to get out of their car and interact with others.

It will be open Monday – Friday between 1 – 3 pm. In order to be tested, patients must have an order from a healthcare provider, who will order the tests based on a patient’s COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, a cough and/or shortness of breath. The site is not for patients who need emergency care.

Patients will enter the testing site on Wabash Blvd. from North Blvd., which is the back side of BRG’s Mid City campus, near the exterior entrance of the former ER. The testing center will collect your info, while you remain in your car. Once your information is collected, a clinician will perform a nasal swab without you ever leaving your vehicle. Your swab will be processed and will take approximately 3 - 4 business days. Results will be sent back to your health care provider to discuss next steps with you.

If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, talk to your healthcare provider, who will fax the orders to the testing site. If you don’t have a doctor, please call 211.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with 588 licensed beds between two campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General serves as an affiliate of Tulane University School of Medicine, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter at @BRGeneral.