Bartle's Pharmacy is providing free COVID-19 testing for eligible individuals. To check your eligibility visit doineedacovid19test.com (Photo from Bartle's Pharmacy Facebook page)

OXFORD – As part of a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and eTrueNorth, Bartle's Pharmacy is providing free COVID-19 testing to those who are eligible from the comfort of their car.

According to Bartle's Pharmacy co-owner and Pharmacist Heather Ferrarese, in order to receive testing individuals should log onto doineedacovid19test.com to see if they're eligible for the free testing.

If so, they will need to make an appointment online. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Individuals need to print and bring the appointment voucher provided by the website as well as a valid photo I.D. at the time of their appointment.

"This service is for first responders, health care workers, and anyone who is concerned they are experiencing symptoms," said Ferrarese.

Ferrarese explained that the testing site set up as a drive-thru, and tests are self administered.

"They pull up out behind our building and we have three separate stations. The first station is to verify the person has an appointment with their voucher and photo I.D. An employee puts a bag with the testing kit on windshield. The second station is additional verification with another employee. They double check the voucher, I.D. and testing kit are all matching. At the third station, the patients puts their window down a crack and an employee will walk them through the self administered test."

She states that some people have brought a friend or family member to help them administer the test.

Depending on the day of the week, test results take three to five days to be returned. When test results are ready, patients will receive an email notifying them to log into the portal used to sign up for the test to receive their results.

"The tests are completely free, we don't bill insurance for them. They are provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. If an employer requires you to be tested regularly, we can accommodate that as well," said Ferrarese.

Bartle's Pharmacy has been working to find different ways to help serve its community during the pandemic. They currently offer curbside pickup for prescriptions and general merchandise from the store. However, they still have challenges that they are facing.

"As an essential business it's been challenging to say the least. It's been an evolving process and we're still evolving. We have stayed open and all of our staff has stayed with us. It has been a rollercoaster ride with guidelines changing so often. We're doing our best to keep everyone safe and healthy. We installed plexiglass at our counters to protect staff and customers and we are wearing masks," said Ferrarese.

Bartle's Pharmacy is also finding ways to keep things light and fun. The staff get dressed up for a different theme every Friday for what they are calling "Fun Friday". The staff have dressed up in a variety of zany outfits from pirates, to celebrities, to superheros. Most recently, the crew dressed in matching t-shirts that read "Pharmacy Squad, I'll be there for you" as a reminder that the pharmacy and staff are there to support the community through these uncertain times.