(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A southwest suburban doctor says that since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a lot more people are taking advantage of his drive-through clinic.
As in, 99.9 % of patients, says Dr. Waldemar Nowak, who has practices in Orland Park and Oak Lawn.
The 64-year old doctor says that, before the pandemic hit, maybe three or four patients a day used the drive-through option at his practice in Orland Park, on the outskirts of the Orland Square Mall.
Now, he says, 20 to 30 patients a day choose the drive-through.
"We just see one patient at a time. Each time the patient leaves the drive-through area, we have to sanitize. We have to clean everything for another patient."
The drive-through clinic is like driving into a garage but, once you pull in, you get out of your car and walk into an exam room just steps away.
Dr. Nowak says the upside of the drive-through option includes not having to sit in a waiting room with a patient who might have the coronavirus or any other spreadable illness.
He said the concept could prove helpful for future outbreaks.