GoHealth Urgent Care First on West Coast to Offer Abbott's Rapid COVID-19 Molecular Test

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Mar 30, 2020, 09:00 ET

ATLANTA and PORTLAND, Ore. and SAN FRANCISCO, March 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GoHealth Urgent Care is continuing to demonstrate its leading position in the fight against COVID-19 by being one of the first to use Abbott's rapid COVID-19 test that can confirm COVID-19 infection in as little as 5 minutes. The innovative test, that received FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), is run on the Abbott ID NOW platform that GoHealth has been actively using for more than a year for point-of-care molecular flu and strep testing.

GoHealth's West Coast team has fully mobilized within a matter of days to implement the rapid molecular COVID-19 testing in Washington, Oregon and California hot spots through its Legacy Health-GoHealth Urgent Care and Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care networks. GoHealth will focus this new rapid testing capability initially on potentially exposed front-line medical personnel and other first responders, including local police, fire and other emergency personnel. GoHealth is helping to care for those who care for all of us, by providing fast and accurate answers, as well as unparalleled access to expedited medical care for those who need it most.

"Abbott's differentiated point-of-care testing capabilities are perfectly aligned with our innovative, consumer-focused approach to high quality care that is deeply integrated with nationally recognized health systems," said Todd Latz, CEO of GoHealth Urgent Care. "The remarkably quick and accurate results produced by the ID NOW molecular test will allow us to offer thousands of additional patients convenient and safe access to the COVID-19 testing they have so desperately been seeking. It will also better enable us to assist our communities' valiant and courageous healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of this pandemic, by almost immediately giving them the answer they need to continue to care for all of us and our loved ones."

GoHealth will use its Video Visit platform (found at www.gohealthuc.com) to evaluate patients by licensed providers who will follow CDC and state guidelines to determine the most appropriate care pathways, including the ID NOW rapid COVID-19 testing. Patients who qualify for the rapid COVID-19 test will be provided with same-day or next-day appointments at specific GoHealth Urgent Care centers, where within minutes they will know if they tested positive for COVID-19 and will be given direction as to the next steps in their care.

"With our robust Video Visit expansion and substantial network of local urgent care centers, we are well poised to screen patients for COVID-19 symptoms and testing, and to handle other urgent care needs for patients from the comfort of their homes," said Latz. "The addition of rapid COVID-19 testing to our online check-in, online registration, chat functionality and integrated medical records will give our caregivers and support teams another technological advantage in fighting COVID-19, starting on the West Coast."

Testing in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA metro areas and in the Bay Area, Northern California, will take place with scheduled appointments after Virtual Visit evaluations. GoHealth Urgent Care team members will follow strict medical protocols for the safety of both patients and staff, and plan to administer the majority of tests "curbside."

About GoHealth Urgent Care
GoHealth Urgent Care is one of the country's fastest-growing, largest and most technology-forward urgent care companies. At GoHealth Urgent Care, we provide unparalleled experiences that are effortless, personal and connected through partnerships with market-leading health systems and our communities as a whole. GoHealth Urgent Care operates approximately 150 urgent care centers in the greater New York metropolitan area, the Portland, Oregon-Vancouver, Washington metropolitan area, the San Francisco Bay Area, Hartford and South Eastern Connecticut, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas and Delaware. GoHealth Urgent Care is a TPG Growth portfolio company, the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, which has more than $103 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.gohealthuc.com.

About Legacy Health
Legacy Health™ is a locally owned, nonprofit health system driven by our mission to improve the health of those around us. We offer a unique blend of health services across the Portland/Vancouver metro area and mid-Willamette Valley –from wellness and urgent care to dedicated children's services and advanced medical centers –to care for patients of all ages when and where they need us. With an eye toward a healthier community, our partnerships tackle vital issues such as housing and mental health. Legacy strives to help everyone live healthier and better lives, with the vision of being essential to the health of the region. To learn more, visit www.legacyhealth.org.

About Dignity Health
Dignity Health is a multi-state nonprofit network of 10,000 physicians, more than 60,000 employees, 41 acute care hospitals, and 400-plus care-centers, including community hospitals, urgent care, surgery and imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and dedicated to serving the common good. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org.

SOURCE GoHealth Urgent Care