JACKSON, Wyo. — St. John’s Health will soon begin testing front-line hospital employees, EMS, firefighters and other first responders for COVID-19 using an antibody test that delivers results in just two to three hours.
The blood test is delivered two times, ten days apart, and reveals whether an individual has been exposed to the coronavirus and whether they have developed the antibodies that give them immunity. The test, manufactured by United Biomedical and its Covaxx subsidiary, is the highest accuracy test of its class with testing to date demonstrating near 100% sensitivity and specificity.
This information will protect St. John’s front line staff and the community’s first responders, keeping those with immunity in place to care for sick patients. It will also protect the rest of the community, which will be able to seek the medical care they need without fear of contracting the virus from a healthcare provider. For those without the antibody, it will allow them to continue to care for the sick by appropriately using PPE.
The testing was made possible primarily through a donation from local businessman Tom Katis to the St. John’s Health Foundation.
“St. John’s Health is so very grateful to Tom Katis who has stepped forward once again to support St. John’s Health with vital equipment and supplies that will help treat COVID-19 in our community,” said Foundation President John Goettler.
Tom’s gift last week of a $100,000 challenge grant to purchase 10 new ventilators the hospital was able to procure has already been met with widespread community support, and the equipment is on the way.
“Ordering necessary supplies for a hospital to do its work used to be a routine task. Today I put it in the realm of herculean effort,” said St. John’s Health CEO Paul Beaupré. “But the response to the Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund is overwhelmingly gratifying. I urge everyone who can to donate. From small to large donations, we are putting every bit of it directly to work for our hospital employees and the equipment we need to fight this virus.”
You can donate to St. John’s COVID-19 Response Fund online.
