Allegheny Health Network opens Braddock, North Side coronavirus testing sites

Allegheny Health Network has launched new coronavirus testing sites in Braddock and Pittsburgh’s North Side, the health system announced Tuesday.

The Braddock testing site is located at the AHN Urgent Care at 501 Braddock Ave.

The North Side testing site is at 1004 Arch St., at the former Divine Providence Hospital near Allegheny Center.

Both sites will operate by appointment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily starting Tuesday. Patients must have a prescription from an AHN-affiliated doctor.

On-demand and walk-up testing are not available at these locations.

AHN is operating four other drive-up sites in Bethel Park, Erie, Monroeville and Wexford. More than 2,500 people have been tested at those sites since they opened in March.

The four original locations were selected because AHN owned the sites and they were able to accommodate large numbers of cars, said Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, vice chair of family medicine at AHN.

“It’s become clear over time that there is a dearth of testing for people who live in the city who may lack the capacity to get out to those sites,” Crawford-Faucher said.

National data has also shown that the death rate from the coronavirus is higher among people with chronic or underlying diseases, including asthma.

“Those people tend to be of lower socioeconomic groups,” Crawford-Faucher said. “And that’s no surprise. They’ve had substandard access to health care for the past 35-plus years.”

Opening the two new sites in Braddock and the North Side will make it easier for people who live in those areas to access testing, she said.

As of Tuesday, 10,479 Allegheny County residents had been tested for the coronavirus and 893 people tested positive, according to data provided by the Allegheny County Health Department.

Braddock has reported two cases. Neighboring North Braddock and Rankin have each reported one case, according to a heat map compiled by the county health department showing where people who have been diagnosed with the virus live.

Forest Hills has reported seven cases, Swissvale has reported five and East Pittsburgh has reported one, while Braddock Hills and Chalfant have reported no cases.

Most North Side neighborhoods so far have reported between one and four cases each, with the exception of the Central Northside neighborhood, which has reported 10 cases, and Manchester, which has reported six.