PA Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced a partnership
Wednesday with CVS Health to assist with nursing home facility testing
as part of the state’s COVID-19 response. The Pennsylvania Department of
Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) are
partnering with CVS Health to offer COVID-19 testing services to skilled
nursing facilities statewide, free of charge. This is in order to make
sure facilities are compliant with Dr. Levine’s universal testing order
issued June 9, 2020.
“We are so pleased to have this level of collaboration and assistance
from CVS Health,” Dr. Levine said. “COVID-19 is a particularly
challenging situation for congregate settings, particularly our nursing
home facilities. This partnership strengthens and increases access to
ensure universal testing is completed in nursing homes, as required in
the order issued earlier this month. It will provide us the opportunity
to better address outbreaks and work to prevent future outbreaks in
nursing home facilities. These teams are assisting us in our response in
the hardest-hit areas as we work to protect the public health and
safety of Pennsylvanians.”
Omnicare, a CVS Health company, will administer up to 50,000 tests for
skilled nursing residents and staff members beginning the week of June
29. The department will roll out a three-tiered priority list for
testing beginning with facilities with new or ongoing outbreaks, then to
facilities with a history of a resolved outbreak and finishing with
facilities with no outbreaks.
Through the work of a number of entities, testing is accessible for
Pennsylvanians through a variety of locations. Adding CVS Health,
Patient First, Rite Aid, Walmart and other testing sites for symptomatic
and asymptomatic individuals through select retail locations across the
state has further allowed for Pennsylvanians to get tested close to
home. Adding these locations to those already offered by hospitals,
health systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), health
clinics and other locations significantly expands the testing network in
the state.
More information about Pennsylvania’s testing sites, including a map of
the sites available in Pennsylvania, is listed on the department’s
website at
https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Symptoms-Testing.asp.
