Excela Health lifting some visitor restrictions, closing covid testing center

Excela Health is closing its Unity covid-19 testing center and lifting some restrictions for hospital visitors as coronavirus cases continue to drop in Westmoreland County, officials announced.

The center on Frye Farm Road opened after the first cases of the coronavirus were discovered in the county in March 2020 and has administered 26,000 drive-through tests, according to health system officials. It will close effective Monday.

Visiting hours will expand to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily on hospital inpatient nursing units starting Tuesday. Patients in the hospital will be able to have two visitors at a time, officials said. Other patients, including in the emergency department, maternity center, surgery and testing areas, are allowed one visitor.

Face coverings and health screenings still are required.

The number of new covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County has dropped significantly over the past several weeks, according to state department of health data. Excela Health officials said the need for the dedicated vaccine center has decreased after the health system saw only 52 new cases in June.

Staff members there over the past 15 months conducted thousands of evaluations and tests and made phone calls reporting results, sometimes while in adverse weather conditions.

“The center was a phenomenal success, and staff working there were highly effective in supporting a frightened community throughout the course of the pandemic,” said Dr. Carol Fox, Excela Health chief medical officer. “This venue provided an extremely safe and well-organized experience for the care team and those presenting for screening.”

Primary care physicians with the health system are able to evaluate and test patients, if necessary.

The appointment-only vaccine clinic in North Huntingdon will remain open. Appointments are available for anyone who needs a first or second shot only. About 155,000 people in the county are fully protected by the virus vaccine, and 28,000 are partially covered, according to state health statistics.