As I mentioned earlier, our folks have been working hard to develop our own diagnostic test for COVID-19. I’m happy to report it’s now available to patients who meet the clinical guidelines, and not just at UVA: We’re also using it to assist other hospitals around the state.
Huge kudos go to our Amy Mathers, MD, and Mendy Poulter, PhD, for their efforts to get the test up and running. Dr. Mathers actually went lab to lab gathering necessary equipment. Thanks, too, to the researchers who provided it, and to all our team members who helped out throughout the process. It was through this tremendous team effort that we became Virginia’s first hospital with its own in-house test.
Before we had this test, it would take 5 to 9 days to get results. Now, the turnaround time is less than 24 hours, and we’re working to reduce that even further in the days to come.
“Our hope is that providing these tests will assist hospitals across the commonwealth in caring for their patients and responding to this pandemic,” said K. Craig Kent, MD, UVA’s executive vice president for health affairs. “We also hope this will help to save protective personal equipment and other critical resources for Virginia’s public health needs.”