By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
New state of the art testing technology at the Wood County Hospital will allow for increased testing in the area.
Dr. Michael Lemon, the chief medical officer, at the hospital said that the Thermo Fisher Real-Time PCR technology has been in use for the past two weeks. About 200 tests a week have been conducted. The hospital has the capability of performing twice as many.
To date the technology has been used for referrals from the hospital’s emergency room, doctor’s offices, and Falcon Health Center as well as both randomized and targeted surveillance testing for Bowling Green State University.
Getting the technology to Bowling Green was a collaboration between the university and the hospital with a boost from Gov. Mike DeWine and Jan Allen, of the Governor’s COVID-19 Response Team.
Hospital President Stan Korducki said that it helped to have that state support to get the in-demand technology and the in-demand reagents and necessary equipment to Bowling Green given the high demand for testing.
Lemon noted a 100-bed hospital is not at the top of anyone’s list.
The hospital had been working with a commercial lab, until testing demand increased including from professional sports teams.
Getting the Wood County lab set up took a while, said Lemon. The reagents are in high demand. Also, those reagents must be stored at very cold temperatures, so the hospital had to acquire an ultra-cold freezer. The reagents are measured in micrograms, so special pipettes were needed, and hard to obtain.
Once in place the technology had to be calibrated and the employees, some new hires, had to be trained. The lab employs eight people with a range of responsibilities.
Now everything is in place.
The Thermo Fisher testing is “the most specific and sensitive technology for any of the tests out there,” Lemon said.
The PCR tests looks for the genetic material specific to COVID-19. Less accurate antigen tests look for a protein associated with COVID 19, but that protein can also be found in other members of “the very large family of viruses.”
Results can be turned around in 24 hours “when we get everything smooth.” Now, depending on when the test is done, it may take a little longer, but within two days.
Another major advantage of the test, Lemon said, is that the nasal foam swab used does not need to go as deeply into the nose, only an inch and a half, as other swabs because it requires a smaller sample.
The tests results, he said, can only be delivered through the hospital computerized patient portal. Patients cannot call the lab to get results. That is too time consuming for staff. Also, after getting the results, the patients will need to contact their physicians.
So far the positivity rate of the tests administered has been 7 percent. That’s to be expected given the number of people with symptoms that have been tested, he said.
Looking at the increase of cases in the state and nation, Lemon expects an increasing demand for the tests. The PCR testing will also be available for patients in other independent hospitals in the area.
Demand from the university is expected to decrease as many students leave campus at the end of the semester. A number who live in off-campus housing will still be in Bowling Green, he said.
This testing is critical, he said, for contact tracing, and contact tracing is critical to controlling the spread of the virus. While the ease of the test and the rapidity of getting results may make some people more inclined to be tested, Lemon is aware of resistance contact tracers from the county health department and the university are encountering.
“Human nature is human nature,” Lemon said. People may feel they are young and healthy, and if they contract COVID they’ll likely have a mild case. But they need to consider their older relatives who “could get very, very sick.”
“It is part of community commitment to others that we not put anyone at risk unnecessarily,” Lemon said.
Aside from the surveillance testing, testing is by appointment only, with a physician referral. The physician needs to fax the order to 419-354-8624 and the Wood County Hospital Registration Department will schedule an appointment. Those without a doctor can go to the Falcon Health Center.
In a statement issued in a BGSU press release, Wood County Health Director Ben Robison stated: “To have this kind of testing in our own backyard is a significant step in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our region. Fast, reliable testing means we can identify trends in real-time and make key decisions to keep our communities safe. Access to testing is critically important in combating the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Wood County Health Department continues to work with local, regional and statewide agencies and organizations to provide testing, contact tracing and other critical services to the public.”
BGSU Chief Health Officer Ben Batey stated: “There are significant public health challenges with COVID-19 testing availability and long wait times for results. By introducing access to this testing in our region that both collects and analyzes specimens at the same location, we will dramatically improve turnaround times for testing results to better serve not just our students, faculty and staff members, but the community at-large.”
