Southlake’s COVID-19 mobile testing site was closed Wednesday until further notice after experiencing significant delays in results from the lab processing more than 1,000 tests administered over the weekend, the city said.
“The contractor was having difficulties keeping up with the supply and demand, so we have closed the site for now until they can process what they have already taken in and can show improvement,” said Amanda Meneses, emergency manager with the Southlake Fire Department.
The city initially said Cleburne-based Advanced Medical Diagnostics of Texas was processing the lab results, but its consultant decided to switch labs, which led to confusion as to who was operating the testing site.
Lanny Wilkinson consulted with the city on behalf of his company, Southlake Diagnostics, to coordinate operations of the site, and his son, Conner Wilkinson, managed the site, he said.
Lanny Wilkinson said he initially talked to Advanced Medical Diagnostics but switched to Frisco-based Supreme Medical Laboratories, based on the latter’s ability to handle more tests.
Robert Collins, the owner of Advanced Medical Diagnostics, said earlier Wednesday that his company was not affiliated with the testing but that someone was misrepresenting his company.
The assertion prompted concern among residents and others who were tested at the Southlake location about the possibility of it being a fraudulent site, said Pilar Schank, Southlake city spokeswoman. Tarrant County issued a statement Wednesday warning people about the fake testing sites that have popped up across the country, with scammers asking for Social Security and credit card numbers, birth dates and health insurance information.
Collins said his company received numerous phone calls from people who were tested at the Southlake site, looking for their results.
Some who were tested Saturday — the first day the site was open — didn’t receive their results until Wednesday morning, according to comments on the Southlake DPS Facebook page. Others said they were still waiting.
Patients had been checking their COVID-19 status on the lab’s website, which had no record of their tests, Collins said
The city later revised details about the switch to Supreme as the new lab in social media posts, Schank said.
Regardless of the mix-up, Wilkinson and his son emphasize that despite the delays in results, they are happy to be helping the community with the service.
“I’m happy with what we’re doing,” Lanny Wilkinson said. “We paused to regroup. I can’t say enough about the city of Southlake and how they stepped up for their people by having a testing site.”
