Urgent Care Is Well Represented on Virginia’s COVID-19 Testing Advisory Council

As state governments continue to grapple with trying to keep residents safe while also making plans to reopen the economy responsibly, some governors are looking to include healthcare experts in discussions. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is one—and Velocity Urgent Care CEO Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc (who is also JUCM’s own senior editor, practice management) has been tapped to participate on the  Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 Testing Advisory Council. Ayers will represent the clinical and safety interests of all Virginia urgent care providers as the team works toward fulfilling Northam’s pledge to bring testing capacity up to 10,000 tests per day. Ayers’s appointment to the task force is significant for urgent care, as early response to the pandemic in Virginia leaned heavily on testing in long-term care facilities and retail settings, leaving capably staffed urgent care centers sitting idle. Velocity Urgent Care was proactive, however, in being the first urgent care operator in the state to offer drive-up testing that did not require a physician referral, qualifying telemedicine visit, scheduled appointment, or residency in a particular jurisdiction.