DCH Shows Off New $1M Testing Facility, Gives Coronavirus Update

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — DCH Health System has upgraded its coronavirus testing amenities as new cases and hospitalizations surge locally and across the country. Paid for by $1 million in federal CARES Act funding, a new modular testing facility will officially open on Friday as the hospital system hopes to better protect and support its frontline workers while allowing for increased patient privacy and improving the flow of the mobile testing site off of Dr. Edward Hilliard Drive.

Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app.

DCH Emergency Department Director Terri Snider addressed local media Thursday to discuss the new facility, saying the previous tent structures in the parking lot of the testing site did not provide adequate protection from the elements for those conducting the tests. At present, Snider said the testing site has seen up to 150 cars come through during a shift.

"We’ve done 15,000 tests at this testing site since we opened up in March," she said. "We did have to close a couple of times due to wind damage."

Snider said the new 3,750-square-foot facility's primary feature is a 2,500-square-foot area dedicated to dual testing bays. When the patient needs testing, they can drive in through one of the quick-moving garage doors, which will close behind them and provide increased privacy for the patient. Patients at the site are currently given the rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, which can typically be resulted in about 15 minutes. Information on results are then provided through an online portal.

The new building will also be mobile itself and can be repurposed for different uses, including vaccine distribution in the event one comes available on a mass scale. If and when the pandemic ends, the building can be moved and utilized for DCH Regional Medical Center based on need.

"We’re trying to think what we could do down the road and how this building could help us meet the needs of our community," Snider said. "Because that's what we’re committed to."

DCH Health System Vice President of Marketing and Communications Andy North said while the new testing facility likely wouldn't have come to fruition as quickly without federal aid, the system would have found a way to make it happen to continue to improve on its services.

He then provided an update on hospitalizations, saying the overall inpatient total is about where it was on Wednesday, when DCH recorded 95 total inpatients — 57 of whom were admitted just in the previous three days.

Officials and experts locally have pointed to spreading in the community as the cause for the spike, which comes before another expected surge in the next couple of weeks following gatherings and travel over the Thanksgiving holiday.

North said DCH is seeing high testing numbers and its physicians are pointing to those contracting the virus becoming infected in the community and not within any institutions, further underscoring the importance of face-coverings and proper hygiene.

"It's definitely a concern when the numbers go that high, but this is something on a day-in, day-out basis outside of the pandemic that our staff deals with on a regular basis," he said, pointing out that the situation remains manageable.

Hospital officials also confirmed that DCH staff has not been faced with a negative workforce impact with respect to positive cases and exposure, which has proven a point of concern at hospitals across the state and country.

"The hospital staff, we wear protective equipment, but we also have public lives out in the community, so we could run into exposure just like any other normal citizen could," Snider said. "The staff is doing their part when they’re out in the community."

She also said the lessons learned since the beginning of the pandemic, in addition to improved methods of treatment, have also helped patients recover faster, ultimately freeing up bed space at a quicker rate than during previous points during the pandemic.

"Any time you can discharge patients faster, it helps with the flow of the hospital," Snider said. "It's a room turnover issue, and if you can't move patients quickly through the system, you backlog."

The latest surge nationwide has also prompted many health systems and hospitals to stop elective surgeries, with North saying nothing is off the table for DCH.

"If it comes to the point where we have to cut back on elective surgeries, that’s certainly one of those stopgaps that we might have to put in place in the future like we did in the past," he said.

As the holidays approach amid fears of an additional spike resulting from gatherings later this month, North reiterated the same sentiments that were seen prior to Thanksgiving and other holidays throughout the pandemic.

"I know the holidays are here and we all want to be together," he said. "But I think we need to reimagine that a little bit in order to keep ourselves and others safe."

Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter.