BVRMC Selected by State for New COVID-19 Selective Testing

Katie Schwint | April 16th, 2020

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center has been selected to receive one of thirteen new COVID-19 testing machines from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The new Abbott machine provides a rapid result for COVID-19 tests.

BVRMC will serve as a hub for testing in several communities. The machines have limited testing capacity, though, until the state gets more testing supplies and the state will provide direction as to who can actually receive this test.

Those that do not meet the state’s criteria, but do need to be tested based on BVRMC’s medical opinion will continue the current process where tests are sent to outside labs and takes days for results.

“We are grateful to the IDPH and Governor for selecting BVRMC as a testing site. There are many details still being worked out, but this will definitely help us better serve specific needs in our community,” says CEO Rob Colerick.

The IDPH looked at the population of elderly, number of long-term care facilities in the area, hospital capacity and whether the location could serve as a hub to several rural communities for testing resources.

Other hospitals selected are: Veterans Memorial, Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, Spencer Memorial Hospital, Iowa Veterans Home, Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Ringgold County Hospital, Kossuth Regional Health Center, Regional Medical Center, Clarke County Hospital, Boone County Hospital, and Buchanan County Health Center.