TestIowa, an initiative created between the State of Iowa and corporate partnerships, hit 100,000 tests conducted today. The program’s first test site opened on April 25th, 2020. Governor Kim Reynolds released a video marking the critical milestone.
“In the face of a global pandemic, we had to be bold, ambitious, and move quickly to launch a comprehensive initiative to combat the spread of COVID19 in Iowa and protect the lives and livelihoods of Iowans,” said Gov. Reynolds. “TestIowa has not only provided our state with critical testing capacity but realtime, in-depth data and analysis to inform our response to the pandemic.”
Through TestIowa, the State is currently testing more than 3,000 people a day, across 20 Test Iowa drive-ups and clinic sites. Since March 1st, over 350,000 tests have been performed in the State. However, TestIowa is currently the number one source of testing. Approximately 21% of all COVID19 tests in Iowa have been through TestIowa.
“Reaching today’s milestone could not have happened without unprecedented collaboration between state and local government as well as local health care providers,” Gov. Reynolds continued. “Test Iowa’s success puts us in a strong position to continue slowing the spread of COVID19, allowing us to reopen safely and responsibly.”
The company behind the TestIowa program is Nomi Health. In an interview with Iowa Field Report, they shared why their unique approach to building a testing program amid a pandemic has been so successful.
Their model helps disincentivize the overbilling and high costs other testing programs have seen. By operating as a single contractor doing all the work rather than managing and paying dozens of individual companies to implement the program and handle other issues like logistics, Nomi reenvisioned what the process could look like by focusing on increasing access and cutting costs, giving the State the ability to save money while maximizing resources.
“These latest figures show how well TestIowa is working – in the last week alone, TestIowa has accounted for 38% of all testing done in this state,” said Nomi Health Chief Operating Officer Josh Walker.
“We’re incredibly proud of our work with the State and Governor Reynolds to streamline the testing process so we can decrease barriers and increase access to testing services for all communities in Iowa. As the program continues to grow and test more and more people so this State can get back on its feet, we’re also proud to have ensured the turnaround time for test results averages just 48 hours,” said Walker.
