MVHS, Masonic Medical Research Institute partner to process COVID-19 tests locally

UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) and Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) of Utica have announced a new partnership to process MVHS coronavirus tests at the MMRI laboratory.

Under the new collaboration, MVHS will collect the COVID-19 test sample from the patient and send it to MMRI, which will run the test and send the results back to MVHS the same day.

The joint venture will “greatly decrease” the turnaround time for coronavirus test results for MVHS patients, the organizations contend. It will also help identify those with COVID-19 faster, per a Wednesday news release.

This partnership creates a “local solution to a national problem,” Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of MVHS, said.

“Like many hospitals across the country, we’ve had a challenge getting adequate supplies of testing materials. The very limited supply of ‘rapid’ COVID-19 tests that produce results in 45 to 90 minutes has meant we have had to send our tests out to be run in other states, sometimes taking up to three days or longer to obtain results. Waiting for results has often led to longer hospital stays (particularly for nursing home patients who must test negative before they can go back to the home) and in some cases has delayed elective procedures. Now, we will be able to send our rapid tests to MMRI and get our results back the same day. And, it’s all accomplished right here in our region.”

MMRI has lab equipment that it uses for research, which involves a different process than producing testing results. Dr. Maria Kontaridis, executive director of research at MMRI, had sent an outreach email to MVHS, and within three weeks, the two organizations had an agreement on a process that worked for both, Stromstad added.

“We are eager, willing and will do what is necessary to assist with whatever is asked of us,” Kontaridis said. “By partnering with MVHS and becoming a state testing laboratory for COVID-19, we hope to help local officials and physicians better manage their patients, reduce the deleterious effects of COVID-19, and help us all get our lives back to normal sooner.”