Hospital prepares new lab
to accommodate growth
11-25-2020
MT. PLEASANT—In response to rapidly-increasing population in Sanpete County, as well as growing need of access to lab services, especially during COVID-19, the Sanpete Valley Hospital has broken ground on a new lab.
The new lab entrance will be south of the surgical center entrance, according to spokesperson Shauna Watts. This new 1900 square foot space, when completed, will house eight lab technician and two drawing rooms. This allows for more efficiency, by doubling the square footage, Watts said.
“We will be able to offer tests such as Flu, RSV, COVID-19 and others in as quick as 15 minutes,” she said.
The lab is scheduled to be completed by March 2021, and open for patient use at that time, she said.
Aaron Wood, administrator at CEO at Sanpete Valley Hospital, said, “Even prior to COVID-19, we have really needed this additional lab space and service, and we’ve been working hard this last year to make the new lab a reality. I’m thrilled to now be moving forward on this. Having easy access to laboratory services, like blood draw, is extremely important, and to ensure we are best supporting the needs of our patients and our community, increasing services and improving access like this new lab is one of our top priorities at the hospital.”
Kevin Wright, lab technician at Sanpete Valley Hospital, said, “This new lab space will be wonderful, as we can run additional lab tests, like COVID-19, in-house. Right now, we have eight lab technicians and with this new addition we will have the needed work space. Not only will we be able to provide more testing, we can do it in an even more timely way with the additional space and resources.”
