NY City escapees to Hamptons can get coronavirus house-calls

[May 21, 2020]  By Anna Irrera

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An elite medical-services provider will start offering in-home coronavirus testing and treatment in the Hamptons, where many of New York City's wealthy residents have relocated since the start of the pandemic, the company said on Thursday.

Sollis Health members, who pay annual fees starting at $3,000, will now be able to get tested in their Hamptons homes for an extra $1,000 per house call, the company said. The charge covers immediate family members and staff.

Sollis has been providing COVID-19 tests and treatment to members, who include people in finance, entertainment, advertising and media, since early March, when the wider population lacked access.

Its Hamptons expansion is the latest example of how the pandemic has exposed inequities in the U.S. health system, in which 30 million people lack insurance. The Hamptons beach communities, which have limited medical facilities and whose full-time residents are largely working-class, have been strained by the recent influx of Manhattanites.

Sollis' service could help reduce the burden on local hospitals and doctors, co-founder Andrew Olanow said in an interview.

Members diagnosed with COVID-19 will be offered in-home treatment including vital signs monitoring, chest X-rays, oxygen support, medication, 24/7 telemedicine and check-ups, Sollis said.

The company will also provide non-coronavirus-related Hamptons house calls, as it has been doing in New York City throughout the crisis.

"The same thing that happened in the city is happening in the Hamptons," Olanow said. "If possible, nobody wants to go to the hospital."

Sollis has expanded the range of medical services it offers at home, ranging from stitches to imaging scans, he added.

Sollis has also set up partnerships with helicopter, car and ambulance services to transport people to the city if hospitalization is required and they prefer not to be taken to a local hospital, the company said.

(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Leslie Adler)

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