DEC. 27 UPDATE
Both major hospitals in Tallahassee have released statements regarding people going to their emergency rooms to get tested for COVID-19.
In a statement Wednesday, Capital Regional Medical Center reminded people that their emergency rooms are not COVID-19 testing or vaccination sites.
Our ER’s are very busy providing our community with the emergency care it needs.
Please know Capital Regional’s ER’s are not COVID-19 testing or vaccine sites. If you are looking to receive a COVID-19 test or vaccine, please visit [Florida Health's website].
We encourage you to only use an ER for an emergency. We also encourage everyone to get vaccinated as this is our best defense against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a similar message posted via their Twitter page on Tuesday night, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital wrote that the inundation of people wanting to be tested put a "tremendous strain on our already busy ERs, delaying patients with true emergencies from receiving the care they need."
Over the holiday weekend, our ERs have become inundated with patients with mild or no symptoms seeking #COVID19 tests. This has put a tremendous strain on our already busy ERs, delaying patients with true emergencies from receiving the care they need.
While our team is ready 24/7 to provide emergency care for patients with illnesses and injuries of all kinds, we need your help to protect those resources and provide the right level of care in the right settings.
We urge you – if you have mild or no COVID-19 symptoms, please avoid the ER and use any of the many other testing avenues available in our community.
Between mail-in at-home tests, your primary care provider, urgent care centers, community testing sites and pharmacies, there are many options for you to get tested quickly.
Anyone experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath or chest pain – which can be symptoms of COVID-19 and many other critical illnesses – should call 911 or seek care in one of our ERs, but people simply in need of testing should seek one of these other sites for care.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to protect our patients, healthcare heroes and community.
ORIGINAL STORY
In a Twitter thread posted on Tuesday, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital urged those with mild symptoms or no symptoms to avoid using their emergency room to get tested for COVID-19.
The hospital said that over the holiday weekend, their emergency rooms became inundated with patients with mild to no symptoms looking to get tested for COVID-19.
TMH added that the inundation of people wanting to be tested has put a "tremendous strain on our already busy ERs, delaying patients with true emergencies from receiving the care they need."
"We urge you – if you have mild or no COVID-19 symptoms, please avoid the ER and use any of the many other testing avenues available in our community," TMH wrote in a tweet.
Those experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath or chest pain – which can be symptoms of COVID-19 and many other critical illnesses – should call 911 or come to one of their emergency rooms, TMH said.
A list of places you can be tested for COVID-19 can be found by clicking here.
You can read the full thread from TMH below:
Over the holiday weekend, our ERs have become inundated with patients with mild or no symptoms seeking #COVID19 tests. This has put a tremendous strain on our already busy ERs, delaying patients with true emergencies from receiving the care they need.
While our team is ready 24/7 to provide emergency care for patients with illnesses and injuries of all kinds, we need your help to protect those resources and provide the right level of care in the right settings.
We urge you – if you have mild or no COVID-19 symptoms, please avoid the ER and use any of the many other testing avenues available in our community.
Between mail-in at-home tests, your primary care provider, urgent care centers, community testing sites and pharmacies, there are many options for you to get tested quickly.
Anyone experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath or chest pain – which can be symptoms of COVID-19 and many other critical illnesses – should call 911 or seek care in one of our ERs, but people simply in need of testing should seek one of these other sites for care.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to protect our patients, healthcare heroes and community.
