Northern Light Inland Hospital will move its medical screening site at the Faith Church parking lot on Kennedy Memorial Drive to a more permanent setting. Drive-up COVID-19 testing by appointment only will continue at Northern Light Walk-In Care at 174 Kennedy Memorial Drive, next to Inland Hospital in Waterville. Photo courtesy of Northern Light Inland Hospital

An official with Northern Light Inland Hospital has announced the coronavirus testing site that has been operating since March at the Faith Evangelical Free Church parking lot on Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville will be moved this week to a more permanent location.

On Monday, the hospital will begin relocating the medical screening operation to Northern Light Walk-In Care at 174 Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville.

“The tent site was very effective as we launched our initial response to COVID-19, but it was never meant to be a long-term solution,” Daniel Booth, vice president of operations at Inland, wrote in a prepared statement.

“Our testing will now be in a different location, but it’s the same simple process to get screened and tested.”

The new, drive-up testing operation will be by appointment only, and those looking to be tested must call Inland’s screening hotline at 1-844-489-1822 for a referral, according to Booth.

Once a patient arrives at the testing site, he or she will be asked to call the office so a staff member can come out to the patient’s vehicle to swab the patient for the COVID-19 test.

Drive-up testing is offered every day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Regular walk-in care is available every day from 8 a.m to 6 p.m.

Booth stressed the change in testing sites does not mean there is decreasing concern about the coronavirus.

“It is very important for people to know that the removal of the temporary tent site should not be taken as an indication that COVID-19 is no longer present in our communities or contagious,” Booth said.

“It simply means that we have established a new location locally for testing. And if we have a surge in cases, we have a plan to manage greater volume with all the tools and safety processes we’ve gained since the pandemic started.”

In the same prepared statement, Dr. Gavin Ducker, Inland’s senior physician executive and co-president of the Northern Light Health medical group urged that all people continue their efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

“It’s vital that we all continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 and every action you take helps,” Ducker said. “Wash hands frequently with warm, soapy water for at least 40 seconds. Cover coughs and sneezes with our elbows and tissues. Call your provider and self-isolate when you’re sick. Stay home when possible. And maintain a 6-foot physical distance when around others.

“Also, wear a face-covering in public, and please know that it is mandatory to wear one at all health care facilities for the safety of patients and staff.”