Get your lab work done without having to leave your vehicle

By:
May 8, 2020
A nurse draws blood from a man who is seated in his car as part of a new drive-thru lab service in Colorado at UCHealth.
For the convenience of patients, UCHealth Memorial Hospital is providing drive-thru lab services. Photo: UCHealth.

Editor’s note: For updated information on COVID-19 testing at UCHealth locations, please click here. For community testing sites throughout Colorado, click here.

UCHealth Memorial Hospital is offering drive-thru laboratory services that allow the hospital to support the health and safety of patients while maintaining recommendations for social distancing.

 Patients with a physician’s referral for lab services – cholesterol checks, blood panels for pre-surgery, liver enzyme tests, newborn screenings and other necessary tests – will now be able to have complete lab blood draws without leaving the comfort and safety of their vehicle. The service is available at Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North.

“We have been in uncharted territory and have needed to think outside the box,” said Karen Flynn, manager of lab services at UCHealth Memorial Hospital. “I am thrilled that we can offer this service to our patients and staff in a safe and efficient way.”

Patients using the drive-thru lab services should follow signs and employees who will guide patients through the process. Patients are asked to wear a mask and to be on the passenger side, if possible; however the lab can easily accommodate patients needing to drive themselves.

A photo of a tent on the campus of UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central where new drive-thru lab services in Colorado are available.
UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado is providing drive-thru lab services. Photo: UCHealth.

As hospitals begin to slowly and responsibly resume operations, the number of people at hospitals will increase. The drive-thru laboratories aim to reduce anxiety for patients who need to come to the hospital while providing a convenient option for lab services.

“UCHealth Memorial has been innovative with our response to COVID-19 since the initial phases of the pandemic. Our drive-thru test site location that we opened early on provided us with safe and efficient way to provide testing,” said Rob Welch, director of laboratory services for UCHealth Memorial. “We recognized the community benefits and popularity of the new process and wanted to expand this concept to include more services, like the new laboratory drive-thru at Memorial Central.”

Hours for the laboratory tents at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North are: 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Click here for other locations where patients can receive lab services.

coronavirus COVID-19 Laboratory

About the author

Cary Vogrin is a media relations specialist for UCHealth. She joined UCHealth in 2015, coordinating media stories and responding to media requests for UCHealth hospitals and clinics in southern Colorado.

Prior to joining UCHealth, Vogrin was a newspaper reporter and editor, having worked at The Fort Dodge Messenger in Fort Dodge, Iowa; The Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California; The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado; and The Gazette in Colorado Springs, where she covered health care.