With Grand Rapids hospitals experiencing a major shortage of nasal swabs for COVID-19 test kits, a local West Michigan company has been hard at work ramping up production. As cases of coronavirus ncrease across the state of Michigan, health officials say the supply chain surrounding vital test kits for the virus remains fragile. In Grand Rapids, hospitals are specifically running out of the sterile nasal swabs used to conduct coronavirus testing.
When local economic development organization The Right Place heard the news, its leadership team immediately identified a member of its medical device consortium that might have the capability to fulfill the request: Keystone Solutions Group, a company in West Michigan that specializes in designing medical equipment.
Officials say, the company went to work on development, and Thursday confirmed that Keystone has nearly completed the entire supply chain needed to manufacture the kits.
Jim Medsker is the CEO of Keystone Solutions Group. He says, it’s an honor to be part of the solution as West Michigan faces the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can safely say this was never on our radar, not this scope,” Medsker said. “Not this level of need, and activity and ramp-up. We feel blessed that we are able to answer some of the needs that are out there.”
Another one of those needs Medsker says is, face masks for health care workers that are also in high demand. He says the swabs will be in production for West Michigan health care systems soon.
