JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When it comes to COVID-19 testing, there is a need for more tests and faster results, and now Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is now making that a reality.
The hospital is now able to process large quantities of coronavirus tests in 24 hours, instead of patients having to wait days for results.
Dr. Jane Hata, Ph.D., a clinical microbiologist at Mayo Clinic says they can now test “up to 1,000 samples per day and get that information back to our patients as well as the greater community.”
This includes tests received from hospitals around the state and samples collected from existing Mayo Clinic patients. The new diagnostic processor will not only process 1,000 tests a day, it will expand testing capacity over time.
A spokesperson for the hospital says they will start with about 8,000 tests to be processed each week.
The expanded testing capacity gives the hospital new hope to combat the virus and care for patients.
“This will help us better track the virus,” Dr. Hata says.
Mayo Clinic says it will also be working closely with other health care institutions in the region to help process their samples in an effort to increase the overall number of COVID-19 tests administered. Quicker results will help doctors make patient treatment decisions faster, free up much-needed hospital beds and reduce the amount of much needed personal protective equipment used to treat patients.