GREAT FALLS — Alluvion Health announced this week that its Aldera Lab is now processing coronavirus tests in-house, which will significantly reduce wait times for patients to between two and three days.
Through a partnership with the state, Alluvion has been offering free drive-through coronavirus testing since May. But because the results were processed by the state, wait times took up to seven to 10 days. As of late December, those had dwindled to between two and three days.
“Most of the people that were getting tested today will know this evening, so that they can participate in family functions if they want to, whether they’re negative or positive,” said Zac Griffin, Alluvion’s chief operations officer, on Thursday. “We just think that’s a great added value for our community.”
The development has been months in the making, but Alluvion had to buy more lab equipment and additional insurance in order to process results in-house.
Alluvion’s free, drive-through coronavirus testing site at the Montana ExpoPark is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on weekends. The site will be closed December 25-27 and January 1-3.
