All Covid-19 testing to be done at Graham Park

Starting next week, all Covid-19 testing in Olmsted County will be consolidated into one location at Graham Park.

According to Olmsted County Public Health, Mayo Clinic’s Northwest Clinic drive-through testing site will shut down, and individuals needing a test will be directed to the Graham Park Collaborative Collection Testing Site.

This community drive-through site at Graham Park, located on the Olmsted County Fairgrounds, is managed through a collaboration of Olmsted County, Olmsted Medical Center and Mayo Clinic.

“Consolidating testing to one location strengthens this important partnership and continue to serve the community and provide unified COVID-19 testing,” says an announcement from Public Health. “This also optimizes the supply chain for testing supplies, streamlines the transport of specimens for processing, and makes the best use of staff resources. The integrated community testing site can support increased testing volumes and has the physical space to allow for smooth traffic flow.”

With the consolidation, Public Health anticipates the Graham Park testing site will be seeing higher patient volumes, and wait times may increase temporarily as workflows are adjusted. Officials say the collaborative site is capable of handling at least 300 tests per day.

Hours will remain weekdays 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and weekends 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Typically, the time with the shortest wait times are between noon-3 p.m.

Moving forward, the Mayo Clinic Health System will continue to operate testing sites in Albert Lea, Austin, Owatonna and Red Wing.

Cover photo courtesy Mayo Clinic