TOMS RIVER – Ocean County College remains a busy test site center and will continue to provide coronavirus tests to its residents via a drive thru test area during the week of May 4.
With more than 3,100 coronavirus tests administered at the Toms River based college appointments will continue to be taken by the Ocean County Health Department for the upcoming week.
Daniel Regenye, Ocean County Public Health Coordinator, said the testing requirements continue to remain the same. Test appointments will continue to be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and are scheduled in advance for Ocean County residents.
The college site will continue to operate 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., three days a week, weather permitting.
Regenye added that “because of the limited number of tests we have, it remains imperative that people follow the requirements to be tested at the college. We do not want anyone to show up at this testing site without following the requirements we have put in place.”
“We are not going to do any health screenings at the site. It is just for testing for the virus,” he added.
Ocean County Health Department officials are reminding residents of the requirements to be tested include:
• You must be an Ocean County resident and have identification.
• You must have a healthcare practitioner script.
• You must make an online appointment at www.ochd.org.
• You must be symptomatic.
• Entry to the college site is from the Hooper Avenue entrance.
Regenye noted that any practitioner (including Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Nurse, Medical Doctor, Physician Assistant etc.) who has “prescriptive” privileges in New Jersey can write a script for COVID testing. It does not necessarily have to be a physician.
In addition, Regenye stressed that with many health care providers currently doing telemedicine, individuals do not need to see a physician in person to obtain the necessary script.
“Please do not unnecessarily expose healthcare workers or others in an attempt to obtain a physician’s order. Please use telemedicine when appropriate during this challenging time,” Regenye said.
Hospitals assisting in staffing the testing site – both Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJ Barnabas Healthcare System – have telemedicine opportunities to assist Ocean County residents obtain the required healthcare practitioner script before traveling to the testing center.
The telemedicine services at the hospitals can be accessed at:
- Hackensack Meridian Health (Ocean Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center) hackensackmeridianhealth.org/covid19/
- RWJ Barnabas Healthcare System (Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus) RWJBHtelemed.org use code RWJBH15
“We have been doing drive thru testing at Ocean County College and it has gone very smoothly,” Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said.
Partners in the testing site include U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management under Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, the Ocean County Health Department, RWJ Barnabas Health Southern Region and Hackensack Meridian Health and Ocean County College.
“Residents remain in their cars and medical personnel perform a nasal swab at the OCC site,” said Ocean County Freeholder Gerry P. Little, who is liaison to the Ocean County Health Department. “We are working to make this convenient and more importantly safe for the public, the health care providers on site and staff.”
Regenye emphasized that anyone getting the test should continue self-isolating after receiving it.
“If you have symptoms, you should be returning home immediately after being tested and continue self- quarantining,” he said. “If you have the coronavirus you will be spreading it if you are not isolating.”
Once the test has been performed, it’s anticipated to take about three to five days for results to be returned.
“All the results will be available on the BioReference Laboratories Patient Portal: Bioreference.com/patients/ and through the Ocean County Health Department residents will be notified whether they test positive or negative,” Regenye said.
The most common symptoms of COVID 19 are fever, fatigue, a dry cough and shortness of breath. Ocean County will also establish a process to ensure that people with test results are informed in a timely manner and provided with guidance, consultation and next steps.
