Tuesday the Douglas Public Health Network conducted a pilot testing drive through procedure for potential COVID-19 patients in Douglas County.
A release from DPHN said 17 residents that were tested had been identified by their health care provider as a patient that was symptomatic, and needed to be tested. This was the first time such drive through testing for COVID-19 had been done in the county. Up until now, tests were collected sporadically at clinics and sent to the Oregon State Public Health lab and then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DPHN modeled the pilot after 3 years of successful flu-vaccine clinics.
Local medical leaders, including Douglas County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, and Dr. Jason Gray, Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Medical Center, performed the actual tests.
Dannenhoffer said “testing is the best way for us to attempt to control the spread of coronavirus”. He said then officials can determine the number of positive cases in the community, where they have gone, and who they have come in contact with, and can also notify people who may have had contact with them and recommend they quarantine themselves.
The release said the testing was done at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Completed tests have been sent to Quest, a commercial laboratory, for processing. The results of the tests should be known in 2 to 4 days. Test results will be sent from the laboratory back to the health care provider that ordered the test.
The drive through process allows for multiple people to be seen in a manner that is safe for the patient and the provider. Doing several tests consecutively also helps to conserve valuable high-tech masks, which providers need to wear, and are in short supply nationwide. The drive through clinic also allowed the use of powered personal respirators that could be used for multiple patients while providing maximum protection for the health care providers doing the tests.
DPHN is working with local health and medical care partners and plans to expand the drive through testing. A specific date for the next one has not been determined.