Jefferson Health and PHL Launch Airport COVID-19 Testing Site

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jefferson Health, Ambulnz and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) have announced a partnership to launch a COVID-19 testing program. Starting Friday, Dec. 4, the program will operate from the PHL Terminal E Departures building, and will provide passengers with the confidence they need to travel safely and conscientiously between destinations.

The COVID-19 testing program is designed for asymptomatic passengers flying out of PHL, with multiple testing options, including an antigen test, a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, and a Rapid PCR test planned in the future. The options range in price from $70 to $130, which distinguishes the PHL program as among the most affordable in the country.

Test results will be texted to passengers the same day for antigen tests, and within 48 to 72 hours for the standard PCR test. Parking in the Terminal E Parking Garage will be complimentary for up to 2 hours for testing patrons.

The availability of COVID-19 testing will enable PHL to expand connections with destinations requiring testing prior to arrival. Passengers traveling to many Caribbean destinations must produce a negative PCR test result, administered in the previous 72 hours, as a condition for boarding a plane. The Caribbean represents one of PHL's largest destination markets in the winter season.

"Jefferson Health and Ambulnz are ideal partners for this program, because they possess an incredible combination of world-class expertise with a focus on equity in healthcare access," said PHL CEO Chellie Cameron. "This testing service will enable Philadelphia to safely reconnect passengers to new destinations, supporting the recovery of the entire region."

Medical providers will administer testing in the Terminal E facility, which has been equipped with medically appropriate air filtration and circulation, as well as a private office setting for each passenger. Jefferson Health will administer the testing via Rapid Reliable Testing, the COVID response division of Ambulnz, which is a joint venture with Jefferson.

"Jefferson has been here for our community throughout this crisis, and this is a next step in helping people conduct essential travel," said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health. "Innovative partnerships work. This partnership with the Philadelphia Airport, our partner Ambulnz, and our ties to Europe give us the opportunity to develop new solutions for economic recovery."

The program has been built to scale up as demand increases. Additional testing program locations have been identified at PHL and will be announced when available.

About Jefferson Health
Jefferson Health, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, is reimagining health care in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson's dedicated team of doctors, nurses, health professionals and staff provide a range of primary to highly-specialized care through 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet®-designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence), more than 40 outpatient and urgent care locations, the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation and the JeffConnect® telemedicine program. For 2020-2021, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals is ranked among the nation's best hospitals in nine specialities by U.S. News & World Report. Jefferson Health's mission is to improve the lives of patients in the communities it is privileged to serve through safe, effective, equitable, compassionate care.

About Ambulnz
Ambulnz is a leading provider of mobile medical services and medical transportation in the U.S. and UK. Ambulnz's TeleHealth+ provides non-emergency medical services to patients in their homes, delivering the full promise and potential of telemedicine. Their experienced medical field staff of more than 1,500 EMTs, paramedics, and licensed practical nurses work under the guidance of MD1 Medical Care PC to fill the gap between a visit to the doctor's office and a traditional telemedicine call. Ambulnz uses disruptive, AI-powered technology to dispatch and manage their fleet, and is the only medical transportation company that offers ambulance, ambulette, and medical sedan options to accommodate every type of patient need. Their Rapid Reliable Testing division has already tested over 500,000 individuals for COVID-19, helping manage the spread of the pandemic. Ambulnz is the largest private ambulance company responding to COVID-19 in New York City and has transported over 15,000 COVID-19 patients nationally. For more information about Ambulnz, visit www.ambulnz.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport is owned and operated by the City of Philadelphia. The airport is a self-sustaining entity that operates without the use of local tax dollars. It is one of the largest economic engines in Pennsylvania, generating an estimated $16.8 billion in spending annually and supporting more than 106,000 full–time jobs for the 11–county Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area.

SOURCE Jefferson Health