KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of people braved long lines and a two-and-half hour wait on Monday to get a COVID-`19 test in the Kauffman Stadium parking lot.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the clinic over the weekend.
KSHB 41 News reporter Emma James said that only about 10 people were working the clinic.
Here’s a look at the line for the COVID-19 testing site at the Truman Sports Complex put on by @HealthyLivingMo and Aim Laboratories. One man tells it was about a 2.5 hour wait but it’s worth it to him to get tested. @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/j7WmdTAxIe
— Emma James (@Emma_JamesTV) January 10, 2022
Sonny Naqvi, president and CEO of Aim Laboratories, who was contracted to put on the clinic, said the company struggled to find workers.
Those who were helping with the testing site were brought in from local hospitality and festival/event companies.
"We have advertised for some positions, we are looking for volunteers and we have a lot going on right now in the lab and outside of the lab," Naqvi said. "We would like people to reach out to us and if there are any volunteers we would love to give them this employment to get the samples collected for us."
He said workers do not have to have health care experience because the event is contactless.
"We can teach them how to collect samples, that is not a problem, we have supervisors on each site, and we have enough staff to teach and educate people but we don’t have enough staff ourselves to man all of the stations," Naqvi said.
One way he's asking people to help speed up the process is to prepare to administer the PCR test themselves.
"I’ve had to go to maybe 400 or 500 cars and speak this again and again, and I think we have instructions on the website also on how to collect the sample, but if people can do some digging, watch the video and see the instructions I think that will make the lines go faster," Raqvi said.
People should also make sure their first and last name and date of birth is correct when making an appointment to avoid delays at the site.
Raqvi said he is asking for patience from the thousands of people who have scheduled appointments at the site.
"I know these lines are long, but please trust us that we are doing our best that we can to move these lines faster," Raqvi said.
KSHB 41 News reached out to the Department of Health and Senior Services about staffing shortages and if the state plans to assist.
A spokesperson sent the following statement:
"We hire contracted vendors who are on the State’s Qualified Vendor List to provide all aspects of community testing events, and part of this contract is providing the staff needed to host the testing events for Missourians."
The site is currently scheduled to be open through Wednesday, Jan. 12 this week and Monday through Wednesday next week. However, Raqvi said the lab is in talks with the state about possibly staying open through Thursday, Jan. 13.
