Photo: SARH Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kyle Ulveling
The Test Iowa sites at St. Anthony Regional Hospital (SARH) in Carroll and St. Anthony Clinic in Denison have been operational for about 10 days now. Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kyle Ulveling, says the number of tests being conducted exceeds his surge expectations, with the numbers quickly rising to around 200 tests per day. Ulveling says they are conducting three types of tests right now. Patients who want to be tested can schedule one through testiowa.com as there are no specific symptoms or special criteria that has to be met. St. Anthony is also doing pre-procedure testing and then there is a separate test for those who come in ill. The timing of results has also exceeded the three to five day statewide average estimated.
As of Friday morning, Carroll County has 64 positive cases reported and Ulveling points to a couple of different factors for these results.
He says these positives tell us the physical distancing, sanitizing, wearing of masks and good hand hygiene can’t go away. He says we want to continue reopening, but we don’t want numbers like Florida, potentially forcing leaders to decide if they need to reclose. Ulveling adds, the majority of test results coming back positive are from those asymptomatic people.
The vast majority being symptom free was not unexpected, but there does not seem to be a pattern in transmission.
Around 75 percent of the positives in Carroll County are in the 18 to 60 age range. Ulveling says this can be seen as representing a bit of good news.
The positive rates are expected to continue increasing, although Ulveling says he does not believe it will be the 10 to 15 a day initially seen. Single digit increases for a while are what is anticipated, but the overall goal is to get that trend line in a steady downward trajectory. St. Anthony is one of the facilities participating in a Mayo Clinic-led nationwide study on the use of convalescent plasma. Ulveling says they continue to utilize this treatment when appropriate as it receives favorable reviews from healthcare professionals across the region. A link to the full interview with Dr. Ulveling can be found below.
Full interview with Dr. Kyle Ulveling: https://www.1380kcim.com/episode/kcim-interview-dr-kyle-ulveling-chief-medical-officer-at-st-anthony-hospital/?fbclid=IwAR0tRJR7BQ-1C7_zeZvVuArj92gNkatDLNFu1xu86PsifId3UJDhZrFaBFM
