Kroger offers free Drive-Thru Covid-19 testing at Franklin Park Conservatory

The drive-thru Covid-19 testing provided by Kroger Health has expanded to 12 states, including sites in Ohio. The new rollout includes the first Central Ohio location for the free service, opening today at Franklin Park Conservatory.

Drive-thru testing at Franklin Park will be conducted daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until Saturday, May 2, and weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays until May 21.

People wishing to get the free test are required to pre-register at Kroger’s online screening site. Once registered, customers may proceed to the testing site where they are checked in while remaining in the vehicle. The final tent is where tests are self-administered, while still in your vehicle, under the supervision of a nurse practitioner.

Results are typically available within 48 hours and customers testing positive will be contacted via telephone.

Kroger’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing model, which is produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and eTrueNorth, includes 50 locations in 12 states. To date, Kroger Health has performed nearly 8,000 tests in 30 locations in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, with the goal of completing up to 100,000 tests by the end of May.

“As America’s grocer, Kroger is here for our associates, customers, communities and our country,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO in a prepared statement. “As part of Kroger’s commitment to help America reopen safely, we are proud to help expand access to COVID-19 testing as a partner in the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services Public-Private Testing Partnership.”

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A key to this latest expansion is a new order issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) allowing pharmacists to order and administer testing.

Through their collaboration, HHS is providing access to test kits and laboratory services via eTrueNorth and Kroger Health is providing professional services via its multidisciplinary team of nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and technicians.

Using the HHS-recommended testing model, Kroger Health performs approximately 250-330 tests per day. Kroger Health testing sites use anterior nares or mid-turbinate nasal swab tests that are designed to increase safety. Patients remain in their cars throughout the testing process, which is completed in just a few minutes using self-administered test kits.

Those interested in testing at the Franklin Park site can access Kroger Health’s free virtual screening tool, which is intended to identify patients most in need of testing based on CDC guidelines, to determine if testing is appropriate for them. The tool also allows potential test recipients to identify available dates and view additional testing locations in Ohio and other states.

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