TORRINGTON – A nationwide lack of COVID-19 testing materials has caused hospitals around the country to create algorithms to determine whether or not symptomatic patients are tested for COVID-19 – and Banner Community Hospital in Torrington is no exception.
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TORRINGTON – A nationwide lack of COVID-19 testing materials has caused hospitals around the country to create algorithms to determine whether or not symptomatic patients are tested for COVID-19 – and Banner Community Hospital in Torrington is no exception.
Debbie Kilmer, of Torrington, saw that firsthand when she arrived at the emergency room struggling to breath and showing all of the now-familiar signs of the novel coronavirus – a fever, a cough and shortness of breath.
Medical personnel wore protective equipment, machines were wrapped in plastic, and she was put into an isolated room. She got a chest x-ray, and Kilmer said the nurse told the x-ray technician to stay six feet away.
“Fever, the coughing and everything and I had trouble breathing,” she said. “I had really bad trouble breathing.”
Still, she wasn’t tested for COVID-19.
“The doctor excused everything,” Kilmer said. “‘I don’t feel you have COVID, that’s not the case.’ They just sent me home and prescribed me prednisone, and that didn’t even touch the surface.”
Eventually, Kilmer sought out a second opinion from a doctor in Scottsbluff, who ordered a COVID-19 test. Kilmer said the test was performed at Banner, but when she called to get the results, she was told the test had “leaked” on the way to the lab and been spoiled.
“I said ‘it leaked?’” Kilmer said. “The doctor wanted to tell you that if it doesn’t get any better, if it worsens, to go to the ER. How much worse did they want it to get? Does that make sense?”
Unfortunately, though, tests are limited. BCH CEO Zach Miller said he couldn’t comment on individual cases, but said there is a strict algorithm in place to determine who should be tested for COVID-19.
“Banner Health hospitals and clinics are following a testing algorithm and will test patients when appropriate,” he said. “We have adequate testing supplies, but only those who meet criteria will be tested.”
“The guidelines are subject to change daily as the pandemic situation does, but the current Banner guidelines determine that certain groups of the population who are showing symptoms will be tested.
“High-risk workers like health care workers, first responders, law enforcement officers and mass transit workers will be tested. Critical infrastructure personnel, people who live in a congregate setting like a nursing facility, people over 65 years of age and their caretakers, and the immunocompromised will also be tested.”
That is in line with what State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said during a press conference on Friday. According to her, lack of testing supplies is a nationwide problem. The algorithms have been designed around the most essential workers and at-risk patients.
“We hope that the supply situation will improve and we’re trying to get more of the materials that we need,” Harrist said. “We know this is a problem nationwide, and not just in Wyoming. We must ensure that we can offer testing when and where it can make the most difference – that is why we cannot accept samples from patients that do not fall within our priority categories. We need to reserve the supplies that we have to ensure that testing can continue.”