WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — The Wood County Hospital, along with BGSU and the Wood County Health Department, announced it has opened high-volume COVID-19 testing with a 24-hour turnaround for reliable results.
The hospital says it has trained laboratory staff and specialists to perform tests on hundreds of specimens daily collected from multiple collection locations around Bowling Green, including the hospital, Falcon Health Center, Bowling Green State University and Wood County Hospital Testing and Assessment Center.
Testing is by appointment only, with a physician referral. To access testing, a physician needs to fax the order to 419-354-8624. Once the order is processed, the Wood County Hospital Registration Department will schedule an appointment.
If an individual does not have a physician, they can go to the Falcon Health Center to see a provider.
“The Thermo Fisher testing platform is a highly accurate, high complexity test now available right here in Bowling Green,” said Wood County Hospital President Stan Korducki. “In our implementation of this testing, we will, together through our shared partnership with BGSU and the Wood County Health Department, serve the well-being of our community in a way that has never been done before. This type of testing will be of particular benefit to our community, as well as neighboring community hospitals and nursing homes, allowing health care providers the opportunity to make faster, critical decisions for patient care.”
The hospital says Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Jan Allen, testing lead on behalf of the Governor’s COVID-19 Response Team, were instrumental in facilitating the procurement of scarce testing resources and equipment. Wood County Hospital’s laboratory uses an RT-PCR mid-nasal test through Thermo Fisher Scientific instrumentation, thought to be one of the most reliable testing options.
“To have this kind of testing in our own backyard is a significant step in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our region. Fast, reliable testing means we can identify trends in real-time and make key decisions to keep our communities safe,” said Wood County Health Director Ben Robison. “Access to testing is critically important in combating the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Wood County Health Department continues to work with local, regional and statewide agencies and organizations to provide testing, contact tracing and other critical services to the public.”
BGSU is the only university in Ohio without a medical school to establish a COVID-19 testing partnership with a local hospital and health department.
This builds on the established partnership between BGSU and Wood County Hospital for the Falcon Health Center and the new public-public partnership with the Wood County Health Department announced in July, which introduced a new chief health officer position at the University.
“There are significant public health challenges with COVID-19 testing availability and long wait times for results,” said BGSU Chief Health Officer Ben Batey. “By introducing access to this testing in our region that both collects and analyzes specimens at the same location, we will dramatically improve turnaround times for testing results to better serve not just our students, faculty and staff members, but the community at-large.”
Funding for the COVID-19 testing for BGSU and the public was provided through the CARES Act.
“One of the greatest public health challenges throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic has been securing readily available and reliable testing,” said Sue Houston, vice president for partnerships and chief of staff at BGSU. “For months, we have been working to secure a steady source of quality COVID-19 testing for BGSU and the region. Our partnerships across the state made it a reality.”
