Southeast adding local lab processing for COVID-19

New COVID-19 testing processes will soon be available in Cape Girardeau, which, sources say, should lead to faster laboratory results and a quicker clinical response for those who test positive. The new tests may also be able to tell whether someone has already had the coronavirus.

SoutheastHEALTH announced Friday its laboratory has been approved by three national testing companies to perform COVID-19 rapid result molecular and serology testing. The testing will be phased in over the next few weeks.

Molecular testing is used to determine if someone is infected with the coronavirus while serology testing, also known as antibody testing, is used to detect a person's immune response to the infection caused by the virus rather than detecting the virus itself. Serological tests are used to identify individuals who have overcome an infection and may have developed immunity to it.

"We hope the addition of more testing capabilities that expedite results will calm worries and jump-start this community's economic engine," said Ken Bateman, Southeast's president and chief executive officer, who said the new testing processes will not only benefit patients but health care workers and the general public as well.

According to a SoutheastHEALTH statement, staff from the clinical laboratory at Southeast worked closely with three national testing companies to bring the new testing processes to Cape Girardeau beginning as early as next week.

"Thanks to my team's extensive background in disease pathology, we have the expertise and resources to accomplish this," said Dr. George Wettach, medical director of Southeast's laboratory, who explained that "with any new test platform, there is a rigorous validation process, making sure the equipment provides accurate and timely results for patients."

The molecular and serological tests at Southeast have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to Shauna Hoffman, Southeast's vice president of marketing and business development. "It is the real deal," she said.

In the past, Hoffman explained, molecular test specimens had to be sent to out-of-town laboratories, and it took an average of three to five days for test results to be returned. However, thanks to the new processes, results will be available in a few hours, depending on the number of tests to be processed. Tests considered "urgent" based on a patient's condition can be processed within an hour.

In the coming weeks, Southeast plans to communicate additional services to community and employer groups requiring workforce screenings to help facilitate the reopening of businesses that have closed during the virus outbreak.

"The serology piece will be important in the coming weeks as the community looks to open up their businesses. We want to explore how this additional capability can possibly help the workforce in understanding who has tested positive for the COVID antigen and, if they have, if they're safe to return to work," Hoffman explained.

All completed test results will be sent to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for reporting and tracking purposes. As has been done in the past, patients with positive test results will be contacted with instructions on how to care for themselves at home, symptom management and when to contact health care providers if symptoms worsen.

"We will still be following the guidelines that have been put forth by DHSS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Hoffman said and explained persons who are screened by SoutheastHEALTH must still be prescreened and have to meet certain symptomatic qualifications in order to be tested.

"But these new (testing) options will allow us faster turnaround times for quicker clinical responses and a shortened quarantine time by catching cases earlier," she said.

In addition to its overall capabilities, Hoffman said another reason Southeast's laboratory was verified for the new testing was the organization's extensive "footprint," serving more than 680 clients in 10 states. SoutheastHEALTH also provides laboratory services to more than 50 employer groups with direct contracts supporting more than 30,000 covered lives in Southeast Missouri.

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