Salinas Valley Memorial selected for rapid result testing
SALINAS, Calif. (KION)
It's considered a game changer in diagnosing COVID-19 patients on the Central Coast.
The rapid result test is called ID NOW and is developed by Abbott Laboratories. The machines cut the waiting period from days to just minutes. ID Now is also a very portable lightweight box.
On Friday, during a briefing, the Monterey County Health Department announced Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System was selected to be the first hospital in Monterey County to get the Abbott machines.
"It enables the healthcare providers to see a patient, diagnosis a patient and take the necessary interventions in a very short amount of time and can help prevent further transmissions to other people," said Gavin Cloherty, head of infectious disease research diagnostics with Abbott.
According to Abbott, the company is "ramping up production to deliver 50,000 ID NOW COVID-19 tests per day, beginning next week, to the U.S. healthcare system."
Abbott ID Now received emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"It still takes us 12-24 hours to get those results back and the amount of work and PPE and anxiety that goes on while we're waiting for test results for each of our institutions and to be able to get the results back will dramatically change the way we take care of patients," said Cloherty.
SVMHS, like other hospitals, is preparing for a surge in COVID-19 patients. Yet the number of expected sick patients is nowhere near the totals seen in New York.
"I'm optimistic that we won't have the massive problems they have on the East Coast. Just from the traditional residents of Monterey County, but these alternatives, we're calling them special populations, like the homeless, could definitely stress our system and there's a lot work preparing for that," said Edward Moreno, MD, Health Officer and Bureau Chief for Monterey County during a media briefing on Friday.
