NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Dyckman — Local services in New York

Our family went here in August 2020 for Covid (corona) & antibody tests, and overall, it was a very positive experience. UPDATE: Results took 6 days. By subway, the 1 train and M100 go right there, and the A train's Dyckman Street stop is a couple blocks away.

We were in line at 8:48am on a Monday, and all finished by 10:15am. A long line formed quickly after we arrived so I would recommend arriving at 8:45 or earlier. One staffer told me the line often gets longer during the day.

We got Covid-19 tests (nasal swab) and antibody tests (blood draw). This was my husband and me and our kids, ages 11 and 9; 8 tests in total. We didn't have passports or birth certificates of the kids with us, but my husband showed the staff photos in his phone of the kids' passports and that was acceptable. I recommend bringing passports, or birth certificates or some other documentation for your kids if you plan to get them tested. My husband and I had our IDs, which they checked twice.

It was very well organized, friendly staff, other people getting tested were safe, social distancing on the sidewalk. They had Spanish speaking staff as well. All signs were in Spanish and English.

There is a lot of paperwork to fill out and it seemed clear that they don't take you for testing until its complete. We went to the back of the line but someone told us to go get the clipboards and the paperwork, so I did that while my husband stood in line with the kids. Most of the paperwork is repetitive; contact info and forms. You only fill out the highlighted parts. We also had to fill out the packet of forms for each of our kids and sign for them. They ask for your social security number on the forms. It was a highlighted (required) field on my husband's form but not on mine. I didn't fill out my ssn, for privacy/security reasons. No one asked me for it.

The line moved mostly in order but sometimes the staff pulled out people behind us to go first, or maybe they were just explaining their paperwork. This seemed frustrating, but perhaps there's a reason for it. Maybe those people had certain symptoms.

We brought water, we all drank it, but our younger son didn't drink enough. For the blood draw, it was a pinch and 3ish seconds for all of us, not so bad. But for our younger son, the blood was not flowing too quickly. In retrospect, I should have made sure he drank more while we were waiting in line. However, it appears there is no bathroom there, so plan accordingly. There might be a bathroom at a local store; not sure.

The tests: At first, a staffer told me to come into the tent by myself, but when I told the healthcare worker in the tent I was with family, they brought them in. The separation might have happened because our last names are different. They allowed me to be with the kids while they had the blood draw and nasal swab. (They actually sent overa specific woman who is great with kids - much appreciated!) Three out of four of us were able to get the nasal swab done in one nostril, but they warn you that they might need to try both if first does not work. We all agreed the nasal swab was annoying, but not painful. It only took a few seconds, but afterwards, I still felt weirdness in my nose for several minutes. Everyone else in my family was fine once it was over. I took ibuprofen when I got home and felt fine minutes later; should have brought that with me.

Results: The forms we filled out said 7 to 14 days for results, but the staffer that did the test showed us where we can sign up at a website and get the results, which I think is faster. Originally, we were considering getting the test with the quick results, but I have heard they are not as reliable.

Cost: The sign says the tests are free, and there was no cost for us. They ask for your insurance card. You don't have to have insurance, but they ask about it. We did not give them an...

6 days for covid test results (in early Nov), surprisingly long wait. I ended up missing work because the results didn't come back and I had to go to another test center.

The experience was average which is why it has 3 stars...see update below. Better line wait time than a citymd, but at this point I wouldn't ever go back.

I stood outside for about 20 minutes to enter into a makeshift tarp like covid testing facility. This site is listed as an priority testing center on a nyc.gov website

I went under the impression that this site was like other nyc health locations that offer express rapid testing ( sub 24hr results).

I recommend going to the 168st nyc health location- I got my results same day in a matter of hours.

I have never had to wait 6 days for results I would not recommend this site unless it is convenient for you and you don't need results quickly.

Update: down grade to one star... I was exposed to covid during the 6 day result wait time period. Multiple colleagues were positive and had covid during the time I awaited results. If I had covid I would have been a high risk carrier. I had to use another testing site and recommend you do. If you work and are out of your home use another testing location. 6 days in today's world can literally cost lives, including your family.

Nyc needs to open up more rapid testing sites now that spikes are occuring. I'm hoping my experience was a glitch...

Wait time = great - staff = not so much

I really needed to get tested with immediate results and this was the closest testing site. The process was very confusing, I had to ask other patients for help since no one was around for me to ask questions. I tried to go into the office to ask who can I go to and a girl came out and just told me “ID” no greeting, nothing and I was confused and with an attitude she asked me “where’s your ID” - it was my first time here and boy, will it be my last. She then sent me to stand outside of a barricade and another staff member yelled at me to get in line and then she told me to come back out (which is where I stood in the first place) the staff inside where I was handed my papers were professional and so was the nurse who provided me with the covid test and the antibody screening. I got my results a day later and it’s safe to say I am never...