Staffing issues impact test site
The COVID-19 testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds, set up by the state and run by Optum Serve-lhi, experienced multiple closures since Christmas due to nurse staffing shortages.
Testing unexpectedly stopped again Thursday for the fourth time in seven days, and the site was scheduled to be closed on Friday for the New Year’s holiday.
Tuolumne County Public Health Director Michelle Jachetta said on Thursday that the site was closed temporarily, but it was planned to open again on Saturday.
“Public Health does not oversee or manage the state testing site, but we continue to coordinate with the state and the testing site management team to help identify and resolve the staffing issues that they have encountered,” she said in email.
The social media announcement came in the midst of the winter holidays, while the county Public Health Department is urging everyone who spends time around people outside their individual households to get tested.
Staffing issues that have prompted four days of unplanned closures of the largest test site in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties also coincides with the pandemic’s December surge, a crucial shortage of intensive care units in the 12-county San Joaquin Valley region, and an ongoing regional stay-home order.
The unplanned closures of the Mother Lode Fairgrounds testing site also comes at the end of a month in which the county tallied 13 coronavirus deaths. The county’s official COVID-19 death total remained at 21 on Thursday, with the most recent confirmed death reported on Dec. 23.
Jachetta said the multiple closures over the past
week likely would impact testing numbers and could be detrimental to identifying and isolating new cases. She said the first few days will be the most impactful, but the data will be accounted for if canceled appointments are rescheduled.
There are alternative testing sites that can be found through county resources and the OptumSERV-LHI website.
“We remind folks to stay home if they are sick and, if they need to seek medical treatment, contact a healthcare provider,” Jachetta said. “Many healthcare providers can also perform a COVID test or refer for testing.”
Public health will continue to receive test results for county residents, even if they are tested outside of the county.
The testing site was closed on Dec. 25 for Christmas and on Dec. 24, 27, 29 and 31 due to the staffing issues. It was previously scheduled to be closed on Friday for the holiday.
Jachetta said she did not know how many tests had to be rescheduled due to the closures, but noted the site has been mostly booked full since November with a capacity of 165 tests on some days and 320 on others.
Jachetta said there are specific requirements the site must meet according to its contract with the state, which includes logistical, equipment, supply and staffing thresholds. She said public health does not know why there is a shortage of nurses at the site or whether it is due to positive tests.
“Staffing challenges, especially for clinical staff, are being felt throughout the state as the pandemic continues,” she said.
Optumserve bills itself as a federal health services business of Optum and Unitedhealth Group, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is a pharmacy benefit manager and care services group operating in 150 countries around the world. LHI is a subsidiary of Optumserve.
The Union Democrat reached out to a spokesperson at Optumserve over email but did not receive a response on Thursday. A call to a media number on its website went straight to voicemail and was not returned.
“Their management team communicates with us regularly,” Jachetta said on Tuesday. “Our staff receives information and notifications, and we were notified this morning that they were experiencing issues and worked most of the day trying to locate additional staff, but were unsuccessful.”
The county Public Health Department posted to social media on Thursday morning, “We have been informed that the State COVID testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds is experiencing staffing issues and has had to close the site temporarily. We do not have information on when it will reopen at this time.”
People who had appointments scheduled through their patient portal should receive notifications of cancelation, the department said.
The fairgrounds is also scheduled to be closed on Friday.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and understand that this is frustrating,” the department said in its Facebook post on Thursday. “We continue to work with the site management team and the state to help resolve the challenges surrounding clinical staffing during this difficult time.”
The department advised people to check online for alternative testing sites.