Outside lab causing delays in coronavirus testing for Huntsville Hospital system

Video Credit: WAAY ABC Huntsville, AL
Published on March 30, 2020 -
Outside lab causing delays in coronavirus testing for Huntsville Hospital system

Outside lab causing delays in coronavirus testing for Huntsville Hospital system

You're taking a live look at huntsville hospital.

Right now -- 56 people are in the hosptial's system awaiting the results of their coronavirus test.

That's just one of the new developments we learned today.

We now know 8 people with coronavirus are hosptilized in the system.

7 of those are in madison county.

1 is in another part of north alabama.

We also know 2 of the 8 people are on ventilators.

Thank you for joining us -- i'm dan shaffer.

And i'm najahe sherman.

We have team coverage tonight following today's developments.

We begin with waay 31's sydney martin.

She's live at huntsville hospital where c-e-o david spillers talked about flaws in the coronavirus testing system here.

He says some people have waited nearly 2 weeks to get results and learned some people might want to get retested.

Sydney... huntsville hospital ceo david spillers said today some of the people first tested at the flu and fever clinic still haven't gotten their coronavirus test results back and it's been 12 days..

Spillers said the private lab some of the samples were sent to has had a major back-up and they're pushing the lab to turn results around faster.

He said if you have been waiting - you might want to get retested because they're not getting results back from other labs in about 2 days.

Spillers said the company that supplies the materials to have a lab gave them to private labs and that's why huntsville hospital has had to send samples away to be processed in different labs.

"we have one of the largest hospital based labs in america sitting right behind our hospital, and for whatever reason the government chose allocate test kits to lab corp, quest and national labs.

And not to hospitals like ours where we could do immediate testing and turn it around quickly.

I think that's a flaw in the system that continues to be a flaw in the system.

That's why we are waiting 12 days and still don't have tests back."

Spillers said right now- huntsville hospital has just about everything they need except for some software to process the tests.

He said roche laboratories - the company that distributes the supplies- told them they were directed by the federal government to give the software to large national labs and then to university labs like u-a-b which has already gotten the software.

Spillers said huntsville hospital sees more patients annually than any other hospital in the state..and is the busiest hospital.

And doesn't think it's right u-a-b was given the software already.

.

This afternoon- the hospital said roche laboratories called and said they are working to fulfill the testing needs here in huntsville for the hospital.

Right now- we are still waiting on a timeline for when the supplies will be here and testing can happen here.

Live in huntsville sm

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