HSHS Says Options Available for COVID Screening

As COVID hospitalizations rise in our communities, HSHS Medical Group and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital urge community members to get tested for COVID if they are ill. Please stay home if you are positive for COVID.

HSHS also asks that if you do not need emergent care and are seeking a routine COVID test, please use a local testing site instead of an emergency room to allow area hospitals to focus on those who need hospitalization.

“We are happy to partner with area locations who are providing COVID tests to those with mild or no symptoms,” says Deb Murbarger, St. Anthony’s emergency department director. “If you have shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, please go to the emergency room for care.”

If you need a return to work or school test, have no symptoms or mild to moderate symptoms, make an appointment at HSHS Medical Group’s drive-thru, retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, or utilize other public testing sites. Effingham County Health Department has a list of testing sites on their website.

HSHS COVID Testing Options in Effingham

HSHS Medical Group offers drive-thru tests at 900 W. Temple Avenue, in the tent behind building A. Those who wish to be tested must schedule an appointment through the HSHS online patient portal, MyHSHS.

“We have plenty of testing appointments open this week and next week,” says Stacey Brummer, HSHS Medical Group director of operations and business development in Effingham. “Our drive-thru tent offers COVID tests for community members of all ages with no out-of-pocket cost.”

You do not have to be an established HSHS Medical Group patient to set up an account on MyHSHS or to access a free test. MyHSHS can be accessed at www.myhshs.org or downloaded as an app on Apple or Google Play. It takes just minutes to set up an account, complete a short assessment and register for a test.

Upon registration, MyHSHS users may choose between four different drive-thru testing sites in Decatur, Effingham, O’Fallon and Springfield. Testing sites are a service of HSHS Medical Group and are located off-site from local HSHS hospitals.

St. Anthony’s Convenient Care, located inside St. Anthony’s Health Center at 900 W. Temple Ave., building B, offers COVID testing with a provider visit 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week. Visit www.stanthonyshospital.org/savemyspot to reserve your spot in line and get updates via text.

Patients are encouraged to sign up for the MyHSHS patient portal at www.myhshs.org in order to get test results as soon as they are posted.

How to Get a COVID Vaccine

Visit the Effingham County Health Department website at http://effcohealth.org/covid-registration-3/ for more information on COVID vaccines available in Effingham.

To find an HSHS vaccine clinic near you, visit www.HSHS.org/vaccine.