COVID-19 testing has been a major topic of concern lately, from long testing lines to delays in getting results. However, we’re committed to ensuring that these issues don’t affect the care we deliver, nor our ability to provide COVID-19 testing.
So far, we have performed 170,000 tests in our hospitals, testing centers and Baptist Medical Group physician offices. One-third of the COVID tests performed in Shelby County, Tennessee (the county that includes Memphis) have happened at a Baptist facility. We test every hospitalized patient. Not only does that protect our team and our other patients, it protects the positive patients, as well as their families and associates, because oftentimes these patients are asymptomatic.
I am proud of the amount of testing we’ve done; I don’t believe any other health care organization in our region has done as much. But I’m even prouder of – and so grateful to – our team members who provide this crucial service. In particular, the team members who staff our outdoor testing sites spend hours a day in 90+-degree heat and full PPE testing hundreds of people. Thank you for sacrificing your own comfort to do this important work. You’re playing a key role in the fight against this deadly pandemic.
What’s on your mind? Tell me by emailing me, tweeting me @jason_m_little or finding me on LinkedIn.
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