Frequently Asked Questions

An individual will qualify for COVID-19 testing if they meet on of the following criteria 

Individual has developed symptoms related to COVID-19

• • Fever or chills
  • Cough or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Congestion or runny nose or sore throat
  • Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

Individual has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days

Cayuga Health is contracted by the individual’s employer, school, or other organization

Individual has an upcoming procedure at Cayuga Medical Center

If you have a doctor’s order for a reason other than a pre-procedure test out of CMC facility

If you are a resident of Tompkins County

We are offering a way for anyone to be tested at the Cayuga Health System. If you don’t meet the criteria, but would still like to be tested, a COIVD-19 test is available for $99.

Please bring a credit or debit card with you to the test site. We cannot accept cash, checks, or money orders at this time.  This is to eliminate our staff from touching any personal items inside your vehicle. We will send you a hard copy receipt in the mail.

There are state run test facilities with free testing.

We suggest that you call NYS COVID Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 or visit health.ny.gov for more details about those state run test sites. You can also talk to your primary care physician about testing options.

Please bring your doctor’s order with you to the test site so that we can bill your insurance properly. We don’t have access to faxed documents at the test site, so please bring a physical copy or a picture of the order with you.

You can only book appointments for testing 1 week in advance 

The Cayuga Health COVID Mass Sampling Site provides supervised self-collection of anterior nares (front of the nostril) samples. Anterior nares sampling involves a noninvasive nasal swab. Unlike saliva, there is no requirement to abstain from eating, drinking or smoking.

You must go straight home, you must stay separated from all others in your home, if possible, use a bathroom only you use. If not possible, it must be disinfected after you use it, sleep in a separate room, have meals brought to your room, Visitors or non-household members are NOT allowed to enter your home, you cannot go to work, public places, social gatherings, etc.

Call your local health department for assistance

• Call your primary care provider first
• Please do not go to the ED/Urgent Care without speaking to your doctor
• In case of emergency call 911 You must state that you are under isolation for COVID-19

Yes, and you should self-quarantine for 14 days from your last known exposure, even if your test is negative. We follow the guidelines of the Health Department

We are following NYSDOH guidelines for testing prior to a procedure. Your provider will inform you when you should get your COVID-19 testing. 

On arrival at the site, be sure to inform the staff that you are being tested as a precursor to a surgery or procedure at a CMC facility.

It is not mandated, but please take preventative measures such as wearing a face covering in public when social distancing might not be possible and minimize trips away from home as much as possible. If you have even mild symptoms right before surgery, the procedure will be rescheduled.

Do not go to the hospital or Convenient Care for pre-operative testing. We are using the drive up testing site at Ithaca Mall testing site as not to overload the ED/Convenient Care and minimize the number of people with which you come in contact with before your procedure.

If you are having a procedure outside of Cayuga Health System or with one of our partnering providers, and do not reside in Tompkins County, you will be required to pay the $99 fee. 

Insurance considers testing prior to a procedure to be part of the reimbursement for the procedure itself. Because you’re having a procedure outside of our system and do not live in Tompkins County, your insurance will not cover COVID testing with us. Your provider specifically does not have an arrangement to have their patients get COVID testing at our test site and you would be responsible for paying the $99 fee.

If you want us to send your results to another office outside of our CHS Facilities, I need the following info: Doctors First, Last Name and Working fax number 

• All of our outpatient COVID-19 testing is molecular reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) diagnostic testing.
• Some of our sample sites use saliva testing.  An anterior nares (AN) nasal swab is available at any of our outpatient testing sites – just ask the greeter upon arrival.
• When you registering for testing, be sure to use the same name as printed on your legal photo ID/passport. If you are unsure if you did this correctly, please contact the call center: 607-319-5708.

The pre-travel requirements vary and change rapidly depending on your airline and destination. Please take time to understand any testing requirements associated with your travel plans as guidelines may  We recommendreading all fine print, including that associated with travel insurance, in the event of testing or travel delays.

Many airlines and destinations require more information than what is typically available on the patient portal. To request formal documents for travel please contact the CHS COVID Call Center at: 607-319-5708. If traveling internationally, please have passports readily available for everyone in your party at the time you call.

We recommend to you contact the call center as soon as you know your pre-travel testing date: 607-319-5708. The sooner the better so that we can make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your request.