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Hy-Vee launches COVID-19 testing at selected pharmacies

Self-administered drive-thru tests offered at supermarket, drugstore locations

Russell Redman

August 26, 2020

2 Min Read
Hy-Vee food pharmacy store-Nebraska
People interested in getting tested must first register online to receive a voucher number, at which time they also will be given an appointment time at a specific Hy-Vee pharmacy test site.Hy-Vee

Midwestern grocer Hy-Vee has initiated free drive-thru coronavirus testing at 11 of its pharmacy locations across its eight-state trade area.

People interested in getting tested must first register online to receive a test voucher number, at which time they also will be given a specific testing site and an appointment time, Hy-Vee said yesterday. Individuals don’t need to have COVID-19 symptoms to be tested.

Hy-Vee is offering the coronavirus testing at in-store pharmacies Chariton, Cherokee, Davenport and West Des Moines, Iowa; Rochester and Maple Grove, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Lincoln, Neb.; and Sioux Falls, S.D., and at Hy-Vee Drugstores in Iowa City, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb. Dallas-based eTrueNorth, a health service provider specializing in pharmacy-based care delivery, is managing the testing.

At the test site, patients provide a printed voucher number or show the voucher number on their smartphone. Next, they receive a self-administered nasal swab test kit from a Hy-Vee pharmacy employee, who explains how to perform the test and supervises the process. The patient then drops the completed test kit in a collection bin.

Hy-Vee said the testing takes about five minutes. Hy-Vee pharmacies collect all of the tests and ship them to a lab via UPS. Results are delivered within three to five business days, and patient are alerted via email when results are available. Upon receiving the email notification, they return to the test registration site and log in to view their lab report, which also can be printed.

Related:Hy-Vee accepts SNAP/EBT payment for grocery pickup

Testing is provided at the designated pharmacy sites from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. or 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays, depending on the location.

According to the test registration site, titled “Do I Need a COVID-19 Test?” and run by eTrueNorth, testing follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to determine eligibility. Those eligible for testing include health care workers and first responders, people with symptoms and individuals without symptoms (in accordance with state and local plans for public health monitoring). Some states have a minimum age testing requirement.

eTrueNorth is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, state and local officials, and pharmacy and lab partners to open testing sites in areas of need as part of a public-private partnership announced on March 13, when the federal government declared COVID-19 a national emergency.

Overall, Hy-Vee operates more than 275 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Related:Hy-Vee to distribute 3 million free face masks to shoppers

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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