Local hospitals open drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Hospital Center and University of Missouri Health Care opened the first drive-thru novel coronavirus testing sites in Mid-Missouri on Wednesday.

"We're very proud to be able to have stood up a mobile specimen collection site for the novel coronavirus," said Dr. Robin Blount, the chief medical officer at Boone Hospital.

Employees from Boone Hospital currently have one drive-thru lane staffed by five to six employees. Nurses register patients to find out who they are, which insurance they have and which physician recommended them.

Patients then swab their nose or throat to collect specimens to be sent to the lab to be tested.

Boone Hospital Center is partnered with GeneTrait Laboratories out of Columbia to test the specimen for COVID-19.

Blount said GeneTrait expects a turnaround time of 24-36 hours but it could be as short as four to six hours if the specimen is received quickly.

Once patients have given a specimen sample, nurses give them an information sheet telling them what to do while they await results.

Boone opened its drive-thru at noon and had seen nine patients by 1 p.m.

COVID-19 cases continue to grow in Missouri and around the nation. Missouri's first death from the novel coronavirus was recorded Wednesday in Boone County. Health officials have logged cases around the state.

According to a Boone Hospital Center spokesperson, patients without insurance can be tested at the drive-thru.

Boone Hospital is not charging anyone for COVID-19 testing and are still determining exactly what the process will be for getting reimbursed for that testing, whether through insurance or some other method.

Check back for more on this developing story.