The first healthcare provider to offer testing for the COVID-19 virus in The Villages has expanded that effort to include assisted living facilities in The Villages.
Testing got under way Tuesday and will continue Wednesday at the skilled nursing facility at Buffalo Crossings. Testing at Sumter Place in The Villages and Sumter Grand will take place Thursday and Friday, with others, including Buffalo Crossings Assisted Living, to take place in the near future.
That facility and Serenades Memory Care and Assisted Living at The Villages were among 303 such long-term care centers that were on a list released earlier this week by order of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As of this past Sunday, 1,785 cases of the Coronavirus and 175 related deaths had been confirmed at nursing homes and long-term care facilities across Florida.
Dolly McCranie, executive director of care coordination at Premier Medical Associates, said her organization is proud to be able to step in and provide testing at the various assisted living facilities throughout The Villages, even though such an effort is a huge undertaking that requires an immense amount of coordination. She labeled the testing effort as extremely important, because residents of those facilities are among the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.
Premier Medical Associates was the first healthcare provider in The Villages to offer testing for the Coronavirus. That drive-through effort kicked off March 16 at the provider’s facility at 1580 Santa Barbara Blvd. near Freedom Pointe. The provider also has fought tirelessly to acquire testing swabs and has successfully continued the effort among patients who are showing symptoms and go through telemedicine visits with their physicians.
UF Health also conducted a drive-up testing site at The Villages Polo Fields, but it mostly tested asymptomatic patients for research purposes. Villagers expressed immense frustration with attempting to get appointments at the site, which as of Tuesday morning was closed down again.
