LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- No appointment is needed to get a COVID-19 test at Galen College of Nursing's first clinic downtown. Patients can walk in the doors at anytime and get a free PCR test with results available in a few days.
COVID-19 testing locations are few and far between in the downtown area, and health officials believe this new location is providing the area with a great resource.
"We thought maybe this site would provide just another resource where people can get tested and know their status," said Shalonda Arnold, clinical education coordinator at Galen.
The college created this opportunity in collaboration with Pearl Diagnostic Laboratory. The partnership is providing the area with a centralized testing site and providing hands-on training for nursing students at Galen College.
Five students and an instructor will run the clinic on a rotation. Students at the college will be responsible for getting patients signed in, providing information and administering tests.
Officials at the college believe it's crucial experience in the midst of a nurse staffing shortage.
"The hospitals are drowning," Arnold said. "The long-term care facilities are drowning. We want to be able to help in that area. Our students are actually going to be inheriting this new world we're living in. They need to see what it looks like on this side."
The testing site is located at 707 S. Third St. in Louisville. It is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., but it's closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.
A spokesperson with Pearl Diagnostic said it's planning to open several more testing sites around Louisville in the coming weeks.Â
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