When facilities services supervisor Mike Bassett received a phone call from S&T’s chancellor asking for assistance last Friday morning, he knew the right people for the job.

Missouri S&T had purchased equipment for Student Health Services to provide same-day COVID-19 test results to patients, but the company in Texas was unable to deliver the equipment until the middle of the following week.

S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani asked Bassett if he could arrange a quicker delivery. By 9 a.m. that day, Bassett had lined up two trustworthy employees, Chad Elrod and David Wright, to drive to Dallas and return with the equipment.

“My title is carpenter but I’ll do anything to help Mike and S&T,” says Wright, who has worked in facilities services for six years.

On Aug. 21, Wright and Elrod, who typically works as a painter, became temporary drivers from 9 a.m. until nearly 1 a.m. the following day. Elrod and Wright took turns driving the university transit van during the 16-hour round trip. They picked up the equipment outside Dallas and safely delivered it to the Student Health Services clinic in Rolla slightly after midnight the next day.

Over the weekend, the health care staff trained on using the equipment and by Monday, the clinic started offering antigen testing with same-day results.

“We are excited to be able to offer this rapid antigen testing, which will help keep our students safe,” says Dr. Dennis Goodman, S&T director of student health and chief medical officer. “S&T can now provide results to students the same day they come into the clinic to be tested for COVID-19.”