As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Union County officials say they are trying to overcome hurdles to meet the growing need for testing locally.
During Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting, Union County Health Department staff discussed difficulties around coordinating testing – what Health Commissioner Jason Orcena described as “a vital commodity.”
Director of Health Promotion and Planning Shawn Sech said the health department is partnering with Lower Lights Christian Health Center, a federally qualified health center, to provide drive-thru COVID-19 testing.
She said Lower Lights receives federal funding to provide 100 tests per day. Lower Lights provides and conducts the actual testing, while UCHD assists with the logistics.
Orcena noted UCHD “received zero funding to support this operation,” but is using the agency’s reserves to coordinate testing.
However, Sech said issues have stemmed from the two-step registration process implemented by Lower Lights.
She said Lower Lights previously required those interested in testing to complete a survey online. Then, the registrant would receive a call from a Lower Lights staff member to confirm their test time.
Sech said it is a system “we have been telling them since June is not effective.”
She said issues with the registration process became evident during Tuesday’s testing event.
Over 700 people completed a survey between the Thursday prior and the test date, according to Sech. She said there was “no human possible way to respond back to all of those surveys,” so those who didn’t get a call back were told by Lower Lights to “just show up.”
“We were overrun by 9:15 in the morning and testing started at 9,” Sech said.
Sech said health department employees have been regulating the number of cars lined up in the queue compared to test kits available in an attempt to ensure those registered are tested.
In general, though, Sech said, “We’re only seeing about a third of the people that actually registered through Lower Lights.”
On Tuesday, she said 13 people were placed in the queue to receive a test, waited over an hour and were then told the agencies ran out of tests. Sech said they were placed on a priority list for Wednesday’s testing and 40 tests were reserved to ensure anyone queued up but turned away Tuesday received a test.
To remedy the problem, Sech said UCHD will take over the registration process. Beginning Monday, she said it will be all online, or via phone for those without internet access.
“Lower Lights has thrown up their hands and has finally admitted their registration process is broke,” Sech said.
Orcena said working with Lower Lights is “a great partnership,” but it can often be difficult for agencies who haven’t worked in a pandemic or emergency scenario to operate outside of a “traditional medical model.”
“We’re not perfect, we make our own mistakes but we have lived through enough of this type of activity,” he said. “We know what it takes to process population-level responses because we’ve done them.”
Sech said local agencies do not have the testing capacity to meet the current need, but she is grateful to have “more than some communities have.”
“Even though we have availability, testing is limited,” she emphasized.
Sech also noted that UCHD staff is urging individuals to first work with their healthcare providers and normal hospital system to receive testing.
She said Memorial Health “has taken responsibility of pre-procedure tests” for those who need a COVID-19 test prior to a medical procedure or surgery.
Sech said she is working with Public Information Officer Jennifer Thrush to provide information surrounding the new registration process once it is in place.