COVID-19 Testing

A physician referral is required for a COVID-19 test at Valley View. Call your primary care provider to determine if you are eligible for testing. 

Our primary care practices have the ability to collect specimens in their offices to send for testing. Other patients may be directed to Valley View Hospital for their test. Regardless of location, your safety remains our top priority and we have expanded safety measures in place.

Valley View follows the regional testing process adopted by Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties due to scarce testing resources.   

The regional testing strategy prioritizes who to test and who not to test. These guidelines are available on your local public health website and have been adopted by Valley View.

Recommended COVID-19 PCR testing criteria includes:

• Patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19
• Asymptomatic patients with confirmed exposure (household member, intimate partner, or contact within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer) under the guidance of public health.  These tests should be done at day 7 after exposure and the patient needs to continue to quarantine for the full 14 days regardless of results
• Asymptomatic people living and working in a congregate facility such as a skilled nursing facility under the guidance of public health to detect or control an outbreak
• Pre-procedure per the Perioperative Assessment and Testing Clinic at Valley View

Not recommended COVID-19 PCR testing includes (testing for the following reasons will be sent to an outside reference laboratory):

• Return to work/school/camp for asymptomatic patients
• Travel requests for asymptomatic patients
• Asymptomatic low-risk exposure patients

We ask for your patience as the national shortage has forced us to send more of our tests out to our partner laboratories. In house tests are completed as promptly as possible, generally within 12 hours. Tests sent out are also completed as promptly as possible, but given the inherent travel time, results are currently returned in under 2-3 days. We closely monitor this turnaround time.

Primary Care Locations for COVID-19 Testing 

Eagle Valley Family Practice at Valley View
Eagle
970.328.6357

Internal Medicine at Valley View
Glenwood Springs | Silt
970.384.6707

Pediatric Partners at Valley View
Glenwood Springs | Willits | Silt
970.947.9999

Roaring Fork Family Practice at Valley View
Carbondale | Willits
970.963.3350

Silt Family Practice at Valley View
Silt
970.876.5700

VirtualCare at Valley View
Offered by all providers at all locations.
Call any of the primary care practices listed above to learn more.

Please wait approximately one hour after your physician makes the order to call the Valley View COVID-19 Community Hotline at 970.384.7632. This will allow your provider time to enter the order and transmit it to the hospital lab. Friendly Valley View staff on the hotline will  then confirm that your order has been received, preregister you at the hospital and provide additional details, such as when and where to arrive at the hospital. If you do not call in advance, you may experience a delay in getting your test.

The hotline is open Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 6 pm.  Testing is generally available from 10 am to 5 pm seven days per week.

Your test results will be sent to the provider who ordered your test. If you need your results in writing, please work with that provider to do so.

Currently, results are being returned same-day to up to 48 hours.

At this time, Valley View will not test patients for COVID-19 who do not meet appropriate criteria. Valley View adheres to protocols of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). If you meet testing criteria, the following estimated cash fees may apply to you:

• $128: 7000000855 SARS2COV2 Antibody CPT 86769
• $128: 7000500053 SARS2COV2 Amp Probe CPT 87635 HCPCS U0002
• $203: 7000500058 SARS COV2 Amp Probe CPT 87635

Your insurance may also help cover testing fees. Contact them directly for coverage questions.

At this time, Valley View does not recommend COVID-19 antibody testing. Chief Medical Officer David Brooks, MD addresses antibody testing at Valley View.

For general questions about testing, please call our COVID-19 Community Hotline at 970.384.7632.

Please note, if you require testing, you will be directed back to your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, we will help find you one to obtain a COVID-19 test referral.

Community physicians, dentists, and allied health providers may order testing. Providers must be authorized by both state law and hospital policy to order diagnostic laboratory tests.

We have changed our COVID-19 testing process due to scarce testing resources.

The regional testing strategy adopted by Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties prioritizes who to test and who not to test. These guidelines are available on your local public health website and have been adopted by Valley View Hospital.

Recommended COVID-19 PCR testing criteria includes:

• Patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19
• Asymptomatic patients with confirmed exposure (household member, intimate partner, or contact within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer) under the guidance of public health.  These tests should be done at day 7 after exposure and the patient needs to continue to quarantine for the full 14 days regardless of results
• Asymptomatic people living and working in a congregate facility such as a skilled nursing facility under the guidance of public health to detect or control an outbreak
• Pre-procedure per the Perioperative Assessment and Testing Clinic at Valley View

Not recommended COVID-19 PCR testing includes (testing for the following reasons will be sent to an outside reference laboratory):

• Return to work/school/camp for asymptomatic patients
• Travel requests for asymptomatic patients
• Asymptomatic low-risk exposure patients

We ask for your patience as the national shortage has forced us to send more of our tests out to our partner laboratories.  In house tests will be done as promptly as possible generally within 12 hours.  Tests sent out will also be done as promptly as possible but given the inherent travel time we currently anticipate results in under 2-3 days.  We will be closely monitoring this turnaround time.

Tests for inpatients at Valley View, including ED, will be the priority for in-house testing.

Tests ordered from an outside clinic or care facility will only be performed in-house if the ORDERING PROVIDER calls the laboratory at VVH (970.384.7590) for approval on a case by case basis.

This approach not only manages scarce testing resources but allows us to give your patients with urgent medical needs the timeliest response. All tests results will continue to be returned to you for you to share with your patients.

Finally, in an effort to continuously improve patient and provider experience, we have implemented a “call ahead” process for patients coming to Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs for testing. If you are ordering a COVID-19 PCR test for a patient, he/she needs to call the Valley View COVID-19 Community Hotline at 970.384.7632. The patient should wait at least one hour to call the hotline after the order is initiated to allow for the order transmission and receipt.  The hotline will provide instructions for the test and preregister the patient in Meditech. This process will improve the efficiency of the testing process.  If patients arrive at the Hospital and have not called, they may experience delays.

• Dentists: to order a COVID-19 test, fax this form to our lab at 970.945.2495. 
• Other Community Providers: to order a COVID-19 test, fax this form to our lab at 970.945.2495.

Please direct any general questions to Stacey Gavrell, PIO 970.384.6623.

For general questions about COVID-19 testing, please call 970.384.7632.