DRIVE-THRU BLOOD TEST
Diabetes check for kids
Not everything can be done virtually, so staff at CHEO’s diabetes clinic have come up with an innovative way to make sure young patients still get a crucial blood test during the pandemic: a drive-thru.
The weekly drive-thru clinic began outside the children’s hospital on Tuesday, making it the first of its kind in Canada, according to Josée St-Denis-Murphy, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator at CHEO.
Children and youth with diabetes receive the test, known as hemoglobin A1c, every three months.
Unlike routine blood testing, which is done daily at home, the A1c test is done at a hospital and provides more extensive information about how well managed the patient’s diabetes has been over time. It is considered a gold standard of diabetes management, said St-Denis-Murphy.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, CHEO’s diabetes clinics have been conducted virtually, which means some patients were overdue for an A1c test.
St-Denis-Murphy said staff were considering ways to resume the testing, but were overwhelmed with how they would ensure safety and physical distancing during the pandemic.
CHEO treats 800 children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Amid discussions about screening and physical distancing, lab technologist Kawal Deogun had a better idea: Why not operate the clinic as a drive-thru?
The first patients and families drove in to the clinic on Tuesday morning.
St-Denis-Murphy said the test is important to doctors and nurses who follow and treat patients, but it is also important to families. It gives them a better sense of how well their child’s diabetes is being controlled.
Families can get results on their electronic health records soon after the testing is done.
It is just one of the firsts for CHEO during the pandemic. The children’s hospital also became the first in Canada to operate a virtual emergency department for some patients after visits to the department plummeted during the pandemic.