DICKSON CITY, Pa. — In a matter of minutes, you can now be in and out of the Viewmont Mall parking lot in Dickson City and know whether or not you're safe to go to work, attend a gathering, or go on a trip.
"You can come and get tested, do what you need to do, and get back to life, and I think that's what we're really big proponents of, get back to life," said Mike Dershowitz.
In the fall, entrepreneur Mike Dershowitz teamed up with close friend and infectious disease specialist Dr. Luciano Kapelusznik to start a COVID-19 testing company called 15 to Know.
As the name suggests, customers get their results in about 15 minutes...a huge difference from the more common, more accurate PCR tests that most hospitals and pharmacies offer.
"Society sort of adopted PCR testing, but in reality, Dr. K knew that actually surveillance testing - testing frequently with lower accuracy can really control the pandemic, control outbreaks by finding out faster who's got it, who doesn't, and isolating them appropriately," said Dershowitz.
"I mean, if you test somebody today and you don't get the results back for five days, what if they're positive, and then what behavior are they exhibiting until that test comes back? And as we've learned, the pandemic's really hard on people, you know, depression rates are skyrocketing. And people need some semblance of normalcy, and so tests that are coming back, even in 24 to 36 hours, is really not sufficient."
The duo believes that COVID-19 is going to remain a part of our lives, much like the flu, and so easy, fast, accessible testing needs to become a regular part of our lives as well.
"I think I look at testing now as [...] almost like a utility that we're all going to need to continue to live our lives normally, a normal part of health care. Unfortunately, that's where I think society is gonna be," said Dershowitz.
This is one of two sites the company has set up in Lackawanna County; the other is in Carbondale, at the corner of Brooklyn Street and Westside Drive.
Both locations are open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
You need to make an appointment ahead of time, and each test costs $75. Some insurances may reimburse the cost.
Another site is coming to Luzerne County soon.
The goal is to have 50 sites all across Pennsylvania by the end of March and eventually expand to other nearby states.