To date, the Centura Health system has provided more than 123,950 COVID-19 tests. The availability of COVID-19 testing has been invaluable in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. At the pandemic’s start, testing sites began to crop up in neighborhoods across the country. In Durango, Mercy worked quickly to establish a COVID-19 testing site, first for associates and later growing to accommodate the community at large.
When Kraig Jones, MA, joined the team at Mercy Family Medicine’s Horse Gulch location nine-months ago, he was almost immediately tasked with managing Mercy’s COVID-19 associate testing.
Kraig can still recall testing the first Mercy associate in the initial testing site at Horse Gulch. As the availability of testing supplies expanded so did Mercy’s testing site through a partnership with San Juan Basin Public Health. In addition to testing associates and Mercy/Centura Health Physician Group patients, Kraig and his team of 12 – staffed by Mercy associates who take shifts at the testing site in addition to their normal jobs and duties – were now providing free testing to members of our community at a drive-thru testing site located on Mercy’s main campus. At one point the site was testing 160 people in a 6-hour period.
Kraig says managing the COVID-19 testing site reminds him of his time in the military – where he served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army for more than 10 years – in that he is blessed with an amazing team.
“I’ve really enjoyed managing the testing site,” Kraig explained. “I have a firm belief that you are only as good as your team and I have an incredible team who truly care for our patients and one another.”
“They have admirably handled all the challenges and changes over the last 10 months and often have had to flex on the fly,” Kraig added.
Mercy’s testing site continues to evolve. The Mercy team still supports San Juan Basin Public Health on Mondays and Saturdays at its La Plata County Fairgrounds testing site. Testing also is offered on the Mercy campus 6 days a week with Fridays reserved for Mercy associates only.
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, Kraig’s team now has the opportunity to take part in Mercy’s community COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
“It feels good to get to this point,” Kraig said. “There were times we didn’t know how long it would take to have a viable vaccine. I feel fortunate to be part of it and grateful for the people who created the vaccine so quickly.”
Even with the promise of new vaccines, Kraig knows the pandemic isn’t over and recognizes that many in our community and across the world are struggling.
“We all understand how difficult it has been for our community,” Kraig said. “I want the community to know that Mercy only has the best intentions and we are driving as hard as we can to help make our community whole again.”
