Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Ian Safford | Sgt. Jared Lyle, combat medic in the Kansas Medical Detachment, Lenexa, Kansas,...... read more read more
Medical Soldiers of the Kansas Army National Guard are supporting the Lyon County Public Health Department with expanded COVID-19 testing at the Flint Hills Community Health Center on April 27, 2020, in Emporia, Kansas.
Nine Soldiers started aiding the center April 20 by swabbing patients, running DNA samples through the test, translating and making follow-up calls to patients who were tested.
The health department established a drive-thru testing area in mid-April where patients, directed by their employer or primary physician, scheduled an appointment with the center prior to arrival. Patients are tested by having a five-inch cotton swab sweep their nasal cavity to extract DNA. The DNA gained from the swab is tested, with tests results within 15 minutes to relay back to the patient.
At the end of the previous week, the center totaled around 70 patients tested — depending on the patient, most received rapid testing and a small portion of patient’s samples were sent to Topeka for testing resulting in a longer waiting period for results.
“Everybody is concerned about lack of testing and not getting testing fast enough,” Melissa Smith, medical support manager of the Flint Hills Community Health Center, said. “The testing that we are doing through the drive-thru is a rapid test, so you get results quickly within 15 minutes. This allows us to start our contact investigation sooner, get everyone notified, and get people quarantined as soon as possible.”
Kansas National Guardsmen are not only conducting screening at the health center, but Soldiers are also handling the basic disease investigation and daily contact tracing calls. Any time the center receives a positive case, it requires a disease investigation to find out when the individual started getting sick, where they work, when they last worked and if they have any household members. This helps Soldiers and the center develop an understanding of when and where the individual was exposed to COVID-19, and also who they may have been in contact with and exposed to the virus. All contacts given by those who test positive have to be called daily to monitor symptoms, see if they need to be tested, or are determined to be presumptive positive.
“We take phone calls and we call people who have been exposed to the virus,” Sgt. Nicole Abel of the Kansas Medical Detachment said. “We make sure they are doing OK, we document their symptoms to see if they are getting better or worse to keep the community safe.”
With a high population of Spanish speaking residents in Emporia, having bilingual soldiers working the phones and drive-thru testing has also helped increase flow of information.
“We were trying to use our interpreters that we have on staff here, but it got so busy and we got behind,” Smith said. “It has been so helpful having those service members to help explain what we are doing as people are getting tested, explain isolation and quarantine, and relay information on the daily calls as well.”
The soldiers who have answered the call to serve the community of Kansas in a critical time of need said they are honored to do so.
“We are here to support our community,” Spc. Michelle Dolegsi, medic in the Kansas Medical Detachment, Lenexa, Kansas, said. “As a medic, we are trained to handle situations like this.”
“It gives me a sense of gratitude to be here helping my community,” Spc. Adrian Dominguez, medic in the 1077th Ground Ambulance Company, Lenexa, Kansas, said.
“This is right where I feel we should be as medics in the Kansas Army National Guard – helping those in need in our communities,” Sgt. Jared Lyle, medic in the Kansas Medical Detachment, said.
As COVID-19 continues to impact the lives of the people of Kansas, the Kansas National Guard stands ready to aid and assist.
“The National Guard has definitely been helpful,” Smith said. “We were feeling kind of swamped, so just having those extra people to help with the calls, swabbing, and running the test has dramatically increased what we are capable of doing here.”
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2020 20:38 |
| Story ID: | 368824 |
| Location: | EMPORIA, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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