Many of the state’s testing sites are either outdoors or in places without air conditioning, such as National Guard armories.
(Justin Hicks/IPB News)
The Monroe County health administrator said Tuesday a COVID-19 testing site was undergoing upgrades to avoid more cancelled appointments.
Some people who had afternoon appointments at the Bloomington OptumServe testing location have arrived to find the site shut down.
County health officials and the company have blamed high temperatures. But they hope a new plan to cool the location will resolve the issue.
“Now we have worked with the state and arranged for a portable air conditioning (unit) to be forthcoming,” Penny Caudill said. “So, that should be there by the end of the week. And hopefully that will correct the heat issue.”
Caudill said the business that runs the site, OptumServe, had initially tried other strategies to help staff avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
“They had added some additional staff thinking that perhaps if they got more breaks that they might be able to withstand the heat,” she said.
“You’ve got all that PPE on and you’ve got high temperatures and high humidity, it gets pretty miserable. So, it's been a safety issue for the staff. But even with the additional staff, they weren't able to kind of maintain that. It was still pretty unbearable.”
A spokesperson for Optum, the parent company of OptumServe and its subsidiary Logistics Health Inc., confirmed the site had closed “a few times” due to heat.
“We do reach out to people who have appointments to reschedule when this occurs and have signage posted when this happens,” spokesperson Aaron Albright said.
People who have attempted to get tested at the site in recent weeks have reported last-minute cancellations or found the site empty without explanation.
At the time, the company said the walk-ins were a temporary solution while it searched for a testing location that was air-conditioned.
Many of the state’s testing sites are either outdoors or in places without air conditioning, such as National Guard armories. This includes the Bloomington location.
Emma Atkinson and Brandon Smith contributed to this report.
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