July 9, 2020

Today, Community Hospital is announcing a partnership with the State of Nebraska to provide free COVID-19 testing to eligible residents. Residents of Nebraska can take an online assessment through the TestNebraska portal, and if eligible receive a free test from the hospital. 

Community Hospital will provide testing on the following days/places:

• July 15  Red Willow County Residents – Drive-up testing, 8 -10 AM, Merchant Building/Red Willow County Fairgrounds/McCook
• July 20 Frontier County Residents – Drive-up testing, 8-10 AM, Community Building/201 Garlick Avenue/Curtis
• July 21 Hitchcock County Residents – Walk-in testing, 8-10 AM, Community Building/401 East First Street/Trenton

Appointments are necessary by going to TestNebraska.com. Eligible residents will receive a QR code, unique to that specific individual and not transferable, which is good for eight days. Bring the QR code and your driver’s license to the appointment. For any residents who do not have home Internet, appointments can be made at the test sites. More test days will be offered August through October with those dates to be announced in the future.

“We highly encourage individuals to consider getting tested,” said Sharon Conroy, RN, Community Hospital Infection Control Nurse. “By participating in TestNebraska, we can identify those patients who may be asymptomatic (infectious carriers who show no symptoms), and identify small pockets of infected individuals in our community. This helps stop the spread of the disease.”

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nebraskans have been asking for more widespread access to testing. The State’s partnership with Nomi Health provides Community Hospital with access to a pre-existing supply chain of testing that works, project management, and clinical expertise in collaboration with local hospital staff to get the job done. Community Hospital and public health systems across the state needed immediate access to scarce resources, high-quality testing equipment, an efficient process, which this partnership delivers.