{"id":806896,"date":"2020-04-28T19:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T01:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=382358"},"modified":"2020-04-28T19:00:12","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T01:00:12","slug":"when-it-comes-to-coronavirus-testing-summit-county-is-playing-catch-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/when-it-comes-to-coronavirus-testing-summit-county-is-playing-catch-up\/","title":{"rendered":"When it comes to coronavirus testing, Summit County is playing catch-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Heather Knappe, a nurse for Centura Health, tests a patient for coronavirus at the Centura COVID-19 drive-up community testing clinic at the Vista Professional Building in Frisco on Tuesday, April 28. Tests are available seven days a week to any community member experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.<\/strong><br \/><em>Jason Connolly \/ jconnolly@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>FRISCO \u2014 Researchers estimate a vaccine for the new coronavirus is 18-24 months away. Until then, experts agree that widespread testing and social distancing are the only tools to fight the spread of the virus. In Summit County, performing this level of testing has been a challenge \u2014 until recently.<\/p>\n<p>About 550 people have been tested since Summit County\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/st-anthony-summit-medical-center-patient-the-first-to-test-positive-for-covid-19-in-colorado\/\">first positive case March 5<\/a>, while neighboring counties have been able to test many more. In Eagle County, which has been considered ahead of the nation in preparation, 2,468 people had been tested as of Monday. With 1,017 tests, nearby Routt County is also far ahead of Summit.<\/p>\n<p>More than half of Summit County\u2019s tests are from the past week, when testing first became available to anyone with COVID-19 symptoms. On April 21, Vail Health started testing at its Howard Head Sports Medicine clinic in Silverthorne. The next day, St. Anthony Summit Medical Center started offering daily testing at its Centers for Occupational Medicine Clinic in Frisco. Before that, tests were saved for people with moderate to severe symptoms, health care workers, first responders and high-risk individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the pandemic, the Summit County Public Health Department has relied on help from community partners like St. Anthony, Vail Health and the Summit Community Care Clinic, which have contracts with labs. Even with the partnerships, Summit County has been slow to achieve the level of testing required to reopen the county.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been struggling here, just as many across the nation have, with getting testing available,\u201d Summit County Public Health Director Amy Wineland said. \u201cIt has to do with what labs people are contracted with and what the provider\u2019s capacity is to do the testing as well as their ability to replenish the tests they do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Centura Health\u2019s strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition to testing provided through St. Anthony, Centura Health has helped the county partner with Stadium Medical to provide mobile testing. However, some community members feel Centura isn\u2019t doing enough.<\/p>\n<p>At a Breckenridge Town Council meeting April 21, Mayor Eric Mamula announced the council had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/st-anthony-hospital-ceo-addresses-lack-of-testing-in-summit-county\/\">written a letter to Centura expressing frustrations.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Breckenridge council member Gary Gallagher believes Centura could have done more sooner in the pandemic to be on par with Vail Health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that Summit County has had to contract now with Vail Health, a private health system \u2026 if I were Centura or I were St. Anthony\u2019s, I\u2019d be pretty embarrassed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>St. Anthony CEO Lee Boyles said the hospital has followed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as they are released.<\/p>\n<p>The CDC recommends prioritizing testing in three tiers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tier 1: Health care workers, first responders and those hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms<\/li>\n<li>Tier 2: People who are immunocompromised or at a high risk, such as those 65 and older<\/li>\n<li>Tier 3: Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until the Vail Health clinic began testing locally April 21 that tier 3 patients could be tested in Summit County. Centura began testing anyone with symptoms at its clinic the next day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe opened (Centura\u2019s Centers for Occupational Medicine) clinic as a long-term testing site for the community,\u201d Boyles said. \u201cWe know this is a marathon, not a sprint. We wanted to have a site that would be able to be there for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gallagher said it\u2019s \u201ctoo little, too late.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need broader testing in order to start opening our economy more quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cAll you need to do is look at our neighbor Eagle County and just how effective they were right from the get-go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Boyles said the hospital is doing the best it can to provide testing to the community and that it always has been conservative with tests to \u201cprepare for the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we had the testing available, we would test as many people as we possibly could,\u201d he said. \u201cThose tests just have not been available for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the national testing shortage, many hospitals including St. Anthony have had to buy tests privately. Boyles said Centura\u2019s strategy is to use the highest-quality tests available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve run into issues such as incomplete orders or fraudulent supplies,\u201d he said. \u201cWe focus on the highest-quality tests we can get our hands on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Eagle County got ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vail Health began preparations for the virus in January when cases started to mount in China, said Chris Lindley, who is leading the Vail hospital\u2019s COVID-19 task force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen in January we first started hearing about what was happening in Wuhan, Chris was sitting next to me in another meeting and said, \u2018Hey I\u2019m actually really worried that this one is going to be worse than SARS,\u2019\u201d hospital CEO Will Cook said. \u201cI think I did my best to not look at him and roll my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cook said the Vail Health team used the time in between the outbreak in China and when the first case was reported in the U.S. on Jan. 21 to set up testing centers outside of critical areas like emergency departments as well as forge partnerships with Eagle County\u2019s public health department.<\/p>\n<p>Vail Health also used its partnership with Colorado Mountain Medical to provide testing at outpatient clinics so people could be tested by their doctors. In addition to getting those clinics on board, the two groups also worked to designate three COVID-19 clinics and a drive-through testing center.<\/p>\n<p>In total, there are nine testing locations available to the Eagle County community, Cook said. Those include the emergency department, the three COVID-19 clinics, the drive-through testing center, three Colorado Mountain Medical clinics and the Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance bus, which is a mobile clinic that serves people living in denser environments like mobile homes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just about having the tests and being willing to administer them,\u201d Lindley said. \u201cIt\u2019s how do you get them out to all the various places where patients actually receive care?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Centura\u2019s Centers for Occupational Medicine site, Centura owns three High Country Health Care clinics in Summit County. Centura has not provided testing at any of those clinics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was really no clear way to not co-mingle susceptible COVID patients with people who are totally healthy and unrelated to anything COVID,\u201d Boyles said about Centura\u2019s thought process on testing locations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-382400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Testing-SDN-42920-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Heather Knappe, a nurse for Centura Health, fills out paperwork after testing a patient for the new coronavirus Tuesday, April 28, at the COVID-19 drive-up community testing clinic at the Vista Professional Building in Frisco. Tests are available seven days a week to any community member experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.<\/strong><br \/><em>Jason Connolly \/ <a href=\"mailto:jconnolly@summitdaily.com\">jconnolly@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Routt County\u2019s approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unlike Eagle and Summit counties, the majority of testing in Routt County has been done through its public health department.<\/p>\n<p>While Routt County\u2019s approach has closely aligned with recommendations from the CDC and state department of health, the county public health department had one unique strategy. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.steamboatpilot.com\/news\/county-to-offer-2-drive-through-community-testing-events-for-covid-19-this-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reporting by the Steamboat Pilot &amp; Today<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, when testing supplies were limited, Routt County officials privately bought components of the test kits.<\/p>\n<p>During the week of April 6, Routt County was able to expand testing to include those who are immunocompromised. On April 10, two members of the National Guard arrived in Routt County to help with testing and organization, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.steamboatpilot.com\/news\/national-guard-sergeants-arrive-in-steamboat-to-help-with-covid-19-response\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reporting from the Steamboat Pilot &amp; Today<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>. On April 13, the county started hosting community testing days for anyone with symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs has worked with the Routt County public health department to provide testing through a mobile testing center at the hospital. The hospital also acts as a collection center for the tests, so patients can get results quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Richard Zane, UCHealth\u2019s chief innovation officer, said as soon as the Food and Drug Administration approved the coronavirus test for hospital use, the UCHealth system worked quickly to develop tests for all of its hospitals and purchase the reagents used in the tests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as this became a known pandemic and a known virus, we did a number of things all at the same time,\u201d Zane said. \u201cOur own scientists started developing their own tests. \u2026 As soon as the manufacturers made it known they were applying for an emergency use authorization, we got on the list to purchase the reagents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zane said three of the tests offered at UCHealth hospitals are developed by the system\u2019s scientists.<\/p>\n<p>As the Summit County community continues to fight the virus, Boyles said Centura plans to keep playing a role in providing testing for the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing forward, I don\u2019t think by any means we are out of the woods yet in regards to COVID,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/when-it-comes-to-coronavirus-testing-summit-county-is-playing-catch-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heather Knappe, a nurse for Centura Health, tests a patient for coronavirus at the Centura COVID-19 drive-up community testing clinic at the Vista Professional Building in Frisco on Tuesday, April 28. Tests are available seven days a week to any community member experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.Jason Connolly \/ jconnolly@summitdaily.com FRISCO \u2014 Researchers estimate a vaccine for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-12 17:43:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}