Conway Medical Center stops drive-thru COVID testing

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - Conway Medical Center will no longer offer drive-thru COVID-19 testing after Friday, January 14.

According to a statement, CMC will stop offering drive-thru testing due to supply chain issues and to conserve testing supplies while ensuring availability for symptomatic patients.

CMC said it will continue to provide testing to symptomatic patients in CMC provider clinics.

“Frankly it’s something we don’t want to do, we certainly didn’t choose to do this of our own will,” Dr. Paul Richardson, Chief Medical Officer at CMC. “The tremendous demand for testing right now is really what’s driving this. We’re doing a record number of tests here over the last few weeks. We’re also getting record number of positives [cases].”

Richardson says when it comes to testing supplies, times have been tough.

According to Richardson, the hospital must conserve the testing inventory it has for patients exhibiting symptoms of COVID, who may need additional treatment. For that reason, he says the drive-thru-testing options for CMC must end.

“We’ve provided [thousands] of tests in the last few weeks and been honored to do that and would love to get back to that again if this supply chain crunch ends,” Richardson said. “However, us being able to test folks who don’t have symptoms, or have just been exposed or need a test to go back to work or to school, we won’t be able to do those at this time. A high demand in a low supply state so there’s going to be a lot of shortages. It breaks our heart.”

CMC was the only hospital in the area to offer appointment-based free rapid testing for anyone requesting a test. Since opening on August 19, 2021, the hospital performed more than 30,000 tests for COVID-19.

If you need testing for work, school, or travel, we encourage you to find a community testing location near you through the SC DHEC website. https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations

If you have symptoms and need to be seen by a healthcare professional for treatment and a COVID test, contact your primary care provider. You can find a list of CMC locations at https://www.conwaymedicalcenter.com/locations/.

If you need emergency medical care for COVID-19 symptoms, please call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.

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