West Islip AFC Urgent Care – LI Starts COVID-19 Antibody Testing

April 30, 2020; West Islip, NY– Three Long Island locations, including one in West Islip, of American Family Care, the nation's leading provider of urgent care and largest privately owned operator of urgent care and accessible primary care facilities in the United States, will now provide COVID-19 antibody testing. Testing will be done to determine if a person has been exposed to the coronavirus, and developed antibodies against it.

Due to significant demand for the new antibody test, and to ensure the health and safety of staff and patients, AFC Urgent Care of Long Island locations Farmingdale, East Meadow and West Islip, require that patients pre-schedule their appointment for COVID-19 antibody testing through their websites while limited walk-in appointments are available:

• www.afcurgentcare.com/west-islip
• www.afcurgentcare.com/farmingdale
• www.afcurgentcare.com/east-meadow

AFC Urgent Care is practicing social distancing. Upon arriving for their appointment, patients are asked to wait in their car and only enter the building after receiving a text message from the office. During the appointment, an AFC Urgent Care provider will perform a full medical exam and may administer two tests, depending on appropriateness; a swab test to determine if the patient is a carrier of COVID-19, and/or a COVID-19 antibody test granted EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) status by the FDA. For the antibody test, a phlebotomist draws blood from the patient and sends the sample to Quest, one of the nation's leading labs in testing antibodies. Door to door, the entire process takes up to 20 minutes. Test results are delivered to the patient in approximately three days.

AFC Urgent Care is testing for IgG antibodies, which may be produced by a patient after exposure to the virus causing COVID-19. A positive result indicates that a patient has at some point been infected with the virus. There is a small chance of cross-reaction by non-COVID-19 coronaviruses.
Test results do not exempt people from practicing social distancing. All patients are instructed to continue to follow the CDC guidelines for practicing good hygiene.

"We are still in the throes of this healthcare crisis. The COVID-19 antibody testing will help us better understand the extent of the pandemic, and whether individual patients have been exposed to the virus. Tests will be offered to patients who had symptoms of COVID-19 that began more than 14 days ago, but tested negative for the virus, as well as those who may have been exposed to the virus and were simply never tested," said Robert S. Levy, MD of American Family Care, Farmingdale. "I'm excited we can add this test to our practice for our patients, and that we're able to deliver results quickly."

AFC Urgent Care became the first Urgent Care Center in America to administer the COVID-19 Molecular Rapid Testing, which provides positive test results in five minutes. This game-changing test was instrumental during the height of the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases continue to trend down, antibody testing has started to ramp up nationwide. Since April 1, 2020, AFC Urgent Care of Long Island has conducted over 7,500 molecular rapid tests for COVID-19.
Pre-Scheduled Appointments by Website. Limited Walk-In Appointments Also Available.

AFC Urgent Care West Islip125 Sunrise Highway, West Islip, NY 11795(
631) 400-3430, www.afcurgentcare.com/west-islip
Hours: (Daily) 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

AFC Urgent Care Farmingdale
Bi-County Shopping Center, 1037 Fulton Street, Farmingdale, NY 11735
(631) 983-4578, www.afcurgentcare.com/farmingdale/
Hours: (Daily) 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

AFC Urgent Care East Meadow
2310 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY 11554
(516) 531-6492, www.afcurgentcare.com/east-meadow/
Hours: (Daily) 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Patients are encouraged to contact AFC Urgent Care by email (AFClongisland@afcurgentcare.com) regarding non-COVID-19 medical issues.

Founded by an emergency room physician seeking a more efficient, affordable and personable system for urgent care patients, AFC Urgent Care walk-in medical centers are sweeping the country as the nation's largest urgent care franchise. AFC Urgent Care provides state-of-the-art treatment for acute illness, trauma (including minor surgical procedures), and has on-site laboratory and digital x-ray services. Pre-employment physicals, drug screenings, and treatment of work related injuries are also available to local employers. American Family Care is headed by Dr. Benjamin Barlow, Chief Medical Officer, a former Senior White House Medical Director. By the end of 2018, AFC Urgent Care will have well over 200 locations in over 26 states.
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