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Cone Health Begins New Testing For Quicker COVID-19 Test Results

Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina. Image courtesy: Cone Health

Greensboro-based Cone Health is changing the process for COVID-19 testing. This comes as the system is seeing an increase in the number of patients admitted for the coronavirus.

Cone Health officials say the hospital group has less patient volume overall than it normally does this time of year. That's because it has postponed non-urgent surgeries, telehealth appointments are up, and there's less foot traffic in emergency room departments.

But the number of COVID-19 patients at Cone Health has spiked over the last several days. This week, the number is in the mid-30s.

Dr. Bruce Swords, chief physician executive for the system, says they've received rapid test kits from their lab partners, which allows an in-house process.

"A few weeks ago, we might wait three or four days to receive the results of a COVID-19 test," says Swords. "The status of that patient was unknown and so we used PPE [personal protective equipment] during that entire hospitalization. Whereas today, we can turn that test around really in a matter of hours, two hours or so, and so it allows us not to use PPE unnecessarily for several days.“

Swords believes social distancing and stay-at-home orders are also helping healthcare systems conserve PPE usage and prevent the spread of the virus.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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