Coronavirus testing in Lake County

One of the few rural counties to get rapid testing devices.

Some of the challenges with the coronavirus testing or how long it takes to get the results back and the equipment needed to actually do the testing.

Those are even more challenging for healthcare providers in rural communities.

Now, both curry and lake counties are getting a rapid testing device for covid 19 yesterday and news watch 12 at five we spoke to the hospital, the curry county.

Tonight we're joined by jenny hamrick from the lake district hospital.

Thanks very much for being with us tonight.

Absolutely.

So tell me a little bit about the rapid testing setup that you folks have.

Well, the state sent us a, um, about now and we were received 24 tests and we are validating as we speak.

When you say validating you, that means what?

Um, it's testing the test, so to speak.

It is making sure that what we turn out is accurate.

So we check it against our reference lab.

That is quest diagnostics.

So once that process is complete, how long do you think it will be before you'll be able to go to full online or those tests online?

Hopefully soon.

It depends on, uh, the criteria that the patients have that show up and what the providers are asking for.

Do you have all the equipment you need to get those tests done?

Um, we need more tests.

We have the equipment we need.

It's just the cartridges.

We don't have.

How many more do you think you could use?

That's hard to say.

It depends on if we get an influx of patients that are sick, mmm.

We could use a bunch more because we just don't know what that's gonna look like.

Are there any unique challenges to being in a more rural area to try and get a testing equipment, testing results back, or all of those more challenging in a rural type setting?

It's all challenging.

Um, we have to wait for courier service to get out to our reference lab.

We wait for things to be shipped here and we're smaller, so we just don't have the quality of, or the quantity of numbers that a lot of bigger places have.

What do you see as the biggest challenge going forward?

Do you think you'll be able to get access to the tests you need.

Um, i hope so.

Um, it just depends on if we get a positive test here.

It seems like that's what the state is looking for.

So, um, to be able to put the tests in their places so we're, we're hopeful that we can get what we need.

Are you somewhat surprise, given your location that you haven't had a positive test so far?

Um, no, actually, um, i'm not, i, we do a good job here at the community's doing a great job of staying home and, um, we're so isolated here that, um, i think we're doing a great job.

No.

Are you running just the fast test or are you running the fastest and what would it be considered the more traditional tests.

Um, explain traditional, well, the ones that would take longer to be tested, you'd have to send them out.

Get verification.

The rapid test is really what makes your situation currently unique.

Is it not?

Yes, that is correct.

So why are you still doing the what?

I guess traditional would be the longer test that takes together.

We're collecting for those.

We are collecting for those.

There are confirmation tests that we send to our reference lab.

And how long does that take?

Four to six days or so.

Okay.

When you look at where we could be two or three weeks from now, do you see a dramatic change and what you think your case load is going to be?

Or do you think you're going to, again, because of your isolation being a pretty good position?

Well, i hope we have the test that we need.

If we do have the, the population of patients that are symptomatic that need the tests, um, we just have, we just don't have the volume of test load that would support a huge amount of patients that are sick.

So we're hopeful to get more.

Well, that would be great to get those all out of the way and make sure folks stay safe and it, it is good to hear that folks in the lakeview area are in fact heating that a stay at home