Fenway Health is excited to announce that our first COVID-19 testing pod was installed at 1340 Boylston St. today. When construction is complete, the first floor of our main building will feature two testing pods and one respiratory symptoms clinic pod. The addition of these indoor pods will allow us to continue to offer COVID-19 testing despite the worsening winter weather.
“Testing continues to be a fundamental pillar of our attack plan against coronavirus,” said Dr. Alex Gonzalez, Medical Director. “Since the onset of the pandemic, Fenway Health has tested over 11,000 people for coronavirus infection. The purchase of negative pressure testing pods will allow us to test our patients and staff indoors safely, at a time when infection rates are the highest they have ever been. We recognize that the communities we serve have never needed us more. Being able to test a high volume of people through the winter will play a vital role in helping these communities stay healthy by identifying who needs treatment and isolation as quickly as possible.”
The modular testing booths have a number of innovative features that make indoor COVID-19 testing safe and easy for both staff and the public. The inside of each booth is a HEPA filtered negative pressure environment to clean pathogens from the air. The door on the patient side of the booth allows for public access to the private enclosure. By having the booth divided into two sections – one for staff and one for the person being tested – it minimizes contact, and also allows for a smaller area that needs to be sanitized between patients. The gloved area – in which staff can put their gloved arms through the holes shown in the pictures below – make safer one-on-one patient care possible.
With our current testing set-up in front of 1340 Boylston Street, we are only be able to test Fenway patients who are:
- Symptomatic for COVID-19,
- Have a known exposure to COVID 19 or
- Have an upcoming surgery/procedure.
If you are a Fenway Health patient and think you may need a COVID-19 test, please call 617.927.6000. For the most up to date information on COVID-19 testing at Fenway Health, visit our COVID testing page.