Since March 16, our outpatient laboratory has been offering a drive-up collection service for COVID-19 testing at the hospital for patients who have an order from their provider. Patients park their car under the overhang at Entrance 2 at the hospital and a phlebotomist comes out to collect the swab.

The core laboratory has been busy sending out testing to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), Eli Lilly, LabCorp, and Ipsum labs. After collecting the swab, the team manually enters information into these organizations’ portals and then packages the specimens for delivery/shipment. Laboratory couriers have been driving specimens to Indianapolis every day to deliver them to ISDH and Eli Lilly. Lab technologists then monitor for results to come back through the portal and put the results in our Electronic Medical Record and also inform the patient’s provider of a positive result. These test results take between two and four days to receive back.

As of April 22, CRH has collected a total of 1,100 samples for COVID-19 testing, with 175 of these coming through the drive-up location and the remainder through inpatient swab collections and swabs collected at our Respiratory Clinics. Recently, our Laboratory Services team has begun completing testing in-house using the Abbott ID NOW test. Based on the availability of the Abbott supplies, as we know COVID-19 testing supplies have been limited across the country, we anticipate continuing to send samples to an outside reference lab and reserve the in-house testing for patients where result turnaround time is the highest priority. 

Additionally, our Laboratory Services team has been integral in the launch of our Expanded Access to Convalescent Plasma Program that we have available for high-risk hospitalized patients, made possible through a partnership with Mayo Clinic and national blood research institute Versiti. The Program is designed to provide plasma from donors who have recovered from COVID-19 to critical patients suffering from the disease. A multidisciplinary steering team comprised of hospitalists, inpatient and outpatient physician leadership, Laboratory Services, Pathology, and Information Technology worked together to bring this cutting-edge program to our patients. Specifically within Lab, Jessica Arnowitz, Blood Bank Technical Specialist, conducted the build and testing in the blood bank computer system that interfaces to our Electronic Medical Record in coordination with Information Services. She also researched where CRH could order the convalescent plasma. Dr. Pamela Robertson, a pathologist, was instrumental in communicating and coordinating with the Versiti Indiana Blood Center. Other team members handled the physical segregation of the convalescent products as well as the laboratory steps required to prepare the plasma for the first patient to receive a convalescent product at CRH. 

“I think everyone in the lab has been doing a great job of handling all the changes and anxiety caused by the coronavirus. It seems like every day there’s a new PPE recommendation or new testing strategy or some other change that we learn about,” said Director of Laboratory Services Matt Chaille. “Some days seem crazier than others, and it’s in those times of craziness when I see someone pitching in to help out a co-worker that really makes me appreciate being part of such a wonderful and caring team where everyone shows up ready and willing to handle whatever might come along that day.”

We appreciate all the great work our Laboratory Services providers and team have done and continue to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.