Pre-COVID, I was a foodie. I still am a foodie, but the idea of entering a new restaurant and spending time over a meal is a little more stress-inducing than it used to be. I miss the days of discussing the food, the ambiance and the service of various restaurants on the journey home from a cuisine excursion. The global pandemic lifestyle, however, is all about being flexible, adjusting to new norms and learning new, safe ways to do those things you were so accustomed to doing before. And while dining indoors is no longer an experience I can safely critique, I’ve found a solution: reviewing COVID-19 testing sites. While there is only one (rather expensive) item on the menu, and wait times tend to be long, not all testing sites are created equal. Boynton, despite the limitations on who they will test, seriously impressed me with the speed of both the test and my results.
Scheduling my COVID-19 test at Boynton was a breeze. There is an online portal for making appointments, which was very handy given my personal aversion to phone calls of any kind. I went to book my test on a Friday and snagged a time for the next business day. There are a few caveats, however. Boynton will not test asymptomatic patients unless they have been exposed or fall under the umbrella of “health care staff.” While this is not uncommon for testing sites, it is a little frustrating that the most accessible site for many students has such requirements.
Boynton has hopped on the outdoor dining trend, and all COVID-19 tests are offered from a walk-up window. While the morning of my test was pleasantly balmy, all I could think about was how wildly uncomfortable waiting outside in February will be.
Wait times were very short. There were several people in line in front of me when I first arrived, but I am chronically early to everything. When asking for my birthday to verify my identity, the nurse kindly remarked that it coincided with the day we went into lockdown. I would take points off for dredging up those memories, but how was she to know that I was randomly stranded in the middle of Mexico that day? I will say, however, getting an extra large Q-tip shoved into the deep recesses of your nasal cavity just isn’t my idea of an enjoyable morning. But accidentally infecting everyone I love with a potentially life-threatening disease is also not my idea of a good time. You win some, you lose some.
The area in which Boynton truly wowed was the speed with which I got my results back. I was tested at 9:40 a.m. on a Monday and had results in my inbox by 8 a.m. on Wednesday. Many places say it will take three to seven business days, so it was amazing to get results that quickly.
I give Boynton four out of five stars. The process was quick, easy and relatively painless. It definitely felt geared toward students and was very accessible. The fact that I didn’t have to speak to anyone other than the nurse who performed the test was very appealing. And, while many other services at Boynton have a decent wait time, the entire process took maybe 10 minutes out of my day.
