3 Rivers expands COVID-19 testing access to rural community
The demand for testing has increased and that means results are being delayed.
The demand for testing has increased and that means results are being delayed.
The demand for testing has increased and that means results are being delayed.
While it may be a five-minute drive for you, getting a COVID-19 test isn't so easy for people who don't live in urban areas.
"The number of folks that were calling every single day to find a place to go get a test," said 3 Rivers Executive Director, Terra Uhing.
The workers at 3 Rivers Health knew people in and around Fremont, Nebraska, needed help to know if they were positive or negative for the virus.
"We wanted to do something to try to help offer some additional testing, to get us through, you know, some of these the surges that we're seeing on so that people wouldn't have to leave their community," Uhing said.
Uhing said they ran into another issue when it came to sending testing results to lab facilities.
"Unfortunately, with when we are sending off the labs, there's been some issues with the labs with reagent supply," Uhing said.
To avoid lab delays, 3 Rivers partnered with TotalWellness which orders the tests then processes them in-house. They offer both rapid antigen and PCR tests at no cost.
"We have lab machines here, they can process samples within an hour," said Adam Kohll, president of TotalWellness.
Now with a faster turnaround time for test results, Kohll said they better control the spread of COVID-19.
"You could determine who was exposed to that person, potentially, that person would know that they were positive and let people know around them that they're positive," Kohll said.
3 Rivers will have another testing clinic open this Friday, Sept. 24, between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. at 210 E. Military Ave. in Fremont, Nebraska.