Calgary Health Trust’s $1.7M investment helps expand critical COVID-19 testing
As the provincial economy slowly reopens, having quick access to COVID-19 testing is more crucial than ever.
Identifying positive cases and tracking contacts will be crucial going forward.
Thanks to a $1.7-million gift from the Calgary Health Trust, new equipment at the South Health Campus will help automate processes and more than double the daily testing capacity in Alberta.
The commitment is part of a $4.5-million partnership with Alberta Health Services and the Government of Alberta. In addition to boosting testing from a maximum of 7,000 tests per day to 16,000 per day by the end of June, the testing facility will be able to make results available within 24 hours.
Such significant improvements, both in terms of numbers and turnaround times, will help flatten the curve and ensure our health system has the capacity to manage the crisis, says Dr. Deirdre Church, section chief of microbiology at Alberta Precision Laboratories in Calgary.
“I’ve been asking myself how much testing we need. The answer is, as much as possible, and even more so as we open up the economy and focus on getting people safely back to work,” says Church. “There are also a lot of sectors that need routine testing, such as front-line workers in acute care, longterm care and hospitals.
“The more testing you can have, the better off you will be.”
There are other benefits as well. Through automating the process of COVID-19 testing in the lab, the technology decreases the handson labour that previously led to repetitive strain injuries among staff. It also reduces the reliance on highly qualified lab technologists, who can be difficult to find even at the best of times.
“We’ve had people with blisters all over their hands because they’re pipetting so much,” says Dr. Byron Berenger, a microbiologist at the Public Health Laboratory (Provlab) and Alberta Precision Laboratories.
“Our key objective was to process a high volume of tests every day with minimum stress on staff. Prior to this, we only had one other testing site in Calgary, which meant if something happened to that site, there was no contingency plan.”
Global supply issues with the closure of the Canadau.s. border further exacerbated challenges with COVID-19 testing, says Church.
“Because most of our large diagnostic suppliers have their headquarters in the U.S., it became impossible to get product from them. Thankfully, this new equipment provides us with multiple contingencies.”
Ultimately, investing in additional testing is important because good data informs good decisions at both individual and community levels, says Calgary Health Trust chief executive officer Mike Meldrum.
“It allows you to get patients the care they need, monitor them closely and improve outcomes while preventing further spread. At a community level, it tracks how the virus is spreading and helps us make decisions on public health restrictions around how we support local business, what going back to work looks like and how we can protect our frontline workers and health-care providers.”
The commitment was made possible, says
Meldrum, due to the continued community support received through the Clean Hands, Giving Hearts COVID-19 Response campaign.
“Philanthropy allows us to speak as a community and to ensure the right things happen, and also to make them happen more quickly. Together, we said we want to do what is needed to get back to work and to open our economy. We knew that meant more testing in Calgary and quickly,” says Meldrum.
The investment will continue to benefit Albertans POST-COVID, as it can be used to test other viral strains such as the seasonal flu.
“On behalf of all of us Calgarians, we are immensely grateful. It’s a huge step forward towards providing the capacity of testing that Alberta needs to get out of this,” says Church.
To donate to the Clean Hands, Giving Hearts COVID-19 Response campaign, visit givinghearts. calgaryhealthtrust.ca.