ANOVA Family Health Center is located at 12th St SE, Watford City.
The ANOVA Family Health Center, 301 12th St SE, Watford City, ND, has been offering COVID-19 drive-thru testing since March, but more recently, they have been providing rapid COVID-19 testing. The clinic performs up to 60 tests Monday-Thursday and up to 30 on Fridays.
If someone suspects they have COVID-19, they can schedule a time to be tested by giving the clinic a call. "When they call the clinic, we do a North Dakota Department of Health intake on them. Once that is complete, we input the information into our computer system and schedule a time to come through our drive-thru testing facility," explained Dori Sparby, ANOVA Family Health Center Clinic Manager.
When patients arrive, Dr. Anita Pedersen DNP, FNP-BC, comes out in full PPE, goes over paperwork with the patient, and then swabs the inside of the patient's nostrils. "The sample is then processed with our machine; this process takes around 15 minutes. Once we have the results, the patient is called and informed of their results, and then we send the results to the North Dakota Department of Health," added Sparby.
ANOVA staff members are dedicated to serving not only the Watford City community but the northwestern region of North Dakota. Sparby said, "Prior to ANOVA performing drive-thru testing, Dr. Anita Pedersen had been doing research and had our clinic and staff preparing for it by obtaining PPE and cleaning supplies. Once we began testing, Pedersen lived in the clinic for almost six weeks to make sure that she did not take anything home to her family members as some have underlying health conditions."
Sparby explained that the goal of testing is to try and limit the spread of COVID-19. She said, "We recommend that everyone, even if they have a negative test but are sick, that they stay home for at least 48 hours or until they are symptom-free. We continue to recommend social distancing, wearing masks in social settings, and washing your hands."
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