School News: Testing COVID-19 Samples in Tennessee
Fall 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic found many states and counties in desperate need of a way to quickly test patient samples for the virus. A Baylor School (TN) research lab supported by a $15 million endowment has been testing patient samples since March. Research scientists and Baylor School teachers Elizabeth Forrester and Dawn Richards, who work in the school’s Esoteric and Molecular Lab and are trained in molecular biology and working with viruses, volunteered up to 80 hours a week supporting community drive-through testing for the Hamilton County Health Department in Chattanooga.
As part of their work studying viruses, the team had optimized a testing protocol for COVID-19 that allowed them to report up to 300 results in the same day. At that time, health care providers were sending tests out of state and routinely waiting up to 10 days for results. Once the drive-through testing sites in Hamilton County were operational, Forrester and Richards were able to test 1,700 samples per week.
In June, after three months and having tested 14,000 samples, the scientists stopped testing as the county was equipped to address larger numbers of tests in a larger facility, and they returned to preparing for the school year. Now, the lab is being used to test faculty, staff, and students for the virus to help ensure the safest possible school year. The lab can return results on up to 90 students in less than three hours.
If needed, Forrester and Richards plan to use their ability to provide quick turnaround tests to help health care facilities in vulnerable areas. Even while serving the Baylor School, they are able to support local hospitals and community clinics with same-day results, which are vital to effective contact-tracing and isolation efforts.
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