Major U.S. airport launches onsite COVID-19 testing, with results in less than 1 hour
San Francisco International Airport is the first such facility in the U.S. to implement a rapid COVID-19 testing program for its employees.
Dignity Health St. Mary’s Medical Center, located near the Golden Gate Bridge, and GoHealth Urgent Care—which operates 150-plus sites—launched on-site testing for airline flight crews in late July, according to a Monday announcement. As part of the program, employees can receive test results in the airport’s international terminal in less than an hour.
"Thanks to this partnership with Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, SFO is the first US airport to offer convenient testing for airport employees with rapid results,” Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said in a statement. “I am grateful to the entire team who made this milestone a reality."
Employees can also get tested at nearby Urgent Bay Area care sites, with online reservations available to save their spot in the virtual queue. Test result wait times are only expected to decrease, Satero noted, as the overarching GoHealth Urgent Return to Work program matures.
"We've been providing medical care to travelers and employees at San Francisco International Airport for over two decades through St. Mary's SFO Medical Clinic," Dignity Health's St. Mary's Medical Center President and CEO David Klein, MD, said Aug. 24. "We are pleased to expand our relationship with San Francisco International through this additional partnership providing employers and employees much-needed support to safeguard healthy returns to work during this pandemic."
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.