Greene County Medical Center has recently implemented a new requirement for anyone entering the building, due to COVID-19.

The medical center is an affiliate of UnityPoint Health, which recently announced a new requirement to test all admitted patients for COVID-19. Greene County Medical Center Interim Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Saylor says they have been following that procedure since May 8th, and the patients that are tested include acute and skilled care, observation patients and long-term care residents. She talks about why UnityPoint Health chose to put this new requirement in place.

“They believe that this data will help us as a state and as a community to identify the true prevalence of COVID(-19) and ultimately will help us reduce our dependence on personal protective equipment by allowing us to use it exclusively for those who really need it.”

Saylor adds, the state has an increasing supply of COVID-19 test kits and the results are now available within a 24-hour period of when the test was administered. Saylor says medical center employees are currently undergoing screening tests at multiple times throughout their shifts, however, there are no plans of doing comprehensive tests at this time.