OCC Drive-Thru Testing Center Appointments Booked For Monday

With more than 300 people registered for the drive thru coronavirus testing center at Ocean County College, the Ocean County Health Department and OEM are reminding residents what they need to be tested there.

“We are pleased with the overall response, and the online registration has gone smoothly,” Ocean County Public Health Coordinator Dan Regenye said. “All of our appointments for Monday are booked and we are taking appointments for Tuesday through Friday at this time. 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.”

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 physician’s prescription · You must make an online appointment at www.ochd.org.
• You must be symptomatic.
• You should enter the Ocean County College campus from the Hooper Avenue entrance.

Regenye said 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.

“Many health care providers are now doing telemedicine and are offering this service remotely and in the spirit of social distancing,” Regenye said. “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.”

The 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 physician 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) https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/covid19/
• RWJ Barnabas Healthcare System (Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus) www.RWJBHtelemed.org use code RWJBH15.

“We want these tests to run as smoothly as possible for our residents and the staff that will be onsite doing the tests. This will help insure everyone’s safety,” Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy, who serves as the Coordinator of the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the site, said. “I encourage everyone to follow the requirement to have a doctor’s prescription for the test, to register for the test and to have proper identification once you come to the site. If you haven’t registered and if you don’t have a doctor’s prescription we cannot provide you with a test. I cannot stress this enough."

Residents should enter the site from the college’s Hooper Avenue entrance. The site is scheduled to be open until 3 pm daily and will run weather permitting.

The site will operate daily as long as coronavirus tests continue to be available.

The site will be set up to test about 180 people per day.

Once the test has been performed, it’s anticipated to take about three to five days for results to be returned.