Last Friday, Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach, Oregon was one of three rural hospitals in the state to receive an Abbot ID NOW rapid Covid-19 testing device from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The device came with 48 testing kits, three of which were utilized for required device validation and competency training that was completed yesterday, leaving a total of 45 for patient use.
Curry Health Network’s CEO Ginny Williams announced receipt of the device on her live social media broadcast of April 10. Williams is pleased this rapid Covid-19 testing service is now available in Curry County, a region with a high population of older adults and other at-risk groups.
While Curry Health Network will continue to utilize Quest in southern California as the reference laboratory where the majority of specimens collected are sent for testing, criteria has been established based on Oregon Health Authority’s most current guidelines (subject to testing availability and resource constraints) to identify those patients – based on each individuals’ circumstances – that are eligible to receive the rapid testing.
A supply chain has yet to be established to replenish the 45 testing kits, should they be depleted, although Williams said that as of April 15, Curry Health Network has tested a total of 87 patients with Covid-19-like symptoms when following Oregon Health Authority guidelines.
WHAT PATIENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ABBOTT ID NOW RAPID COVID-19 TESTING?
–Hospitalized patients who are suspected of having Covid-19
–Critical emergency department patients who require transfer to a higher level of care, and are suspected of having Covid-19
–Patients with new onset cough/shortness of breath and fever and who live in a group home environment (e.g. nursing home, adult foster care, skilled nursing facility) will be tested prior to discharge back to their home environment
–Patients with new onset cough/shortness of breath and fever and who are homeless will be tested prior to discharge
–Healthcare workers and first responders who have been in medium or high-risk exposure situations and have developed symptoms
WHERE CAN PATIENTS HAVE SPECIMENS COLLECTED?
–Curry General Hospital Emergency Department, 94220 4th St., Gold Beach, OR
and,
–Curry Medical Center Emergency Care, 500 5th St., Brookings, OR
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET RESULTS?
Whereas it may take several days to receive results sent out to the Quest reference lab, with the Abbot ID NOW device, once the specimen is on site at the hospital in Gold Beach, it is possible that results can be available in as few as 15 or 20 minutes. Between the hours of 5:00pm and 9:00am daily, the results are expected to be back in about 40 minutes.
PLEASE NOTE: The specimens collected in the Brookings location will be sent via courier as quickly as possible to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach for testing, which will increase the estimates times-to-result listed above. The Abbot ID NOW device is located in Gold Beach.
