PICKENS COUNTY — For the past three weeks, an unlikely trio has teamed up to create the County’s first COVID-19 testing program aimed at helping businesses reopen sooner after having an employee test positive.
Realtor Dan Bracken, Nurse Practitioner Stephanie King and Rep. Neal Collins said the idea was simple: If an employee of a local business tests positive, there should be a hassle-free way to swoop in and test the rest of the employees.
Quick testing enables the business to re-open sooner. Rather than waiting 14 days to see if someone else starts displaying symptoms, test results could be back in three.
But while the idea was simple, the logistics were not. They needed a lab, they needed tests, they needed funding and they needed a place to set up, which is where the Pickens County Council and County Administrator Ken Roper came into play.
“We had the space here at the Administration building,” said Roper. “And when we heard what it was they wanted to do — and that they had partnered with a lab at USC, we thought ‘we can’t not do this.’”
The tests used are saliva based rather than the nasal swab DHEC is using, so they’re less invasive, King explained. Also, they only cost around $12 bucks a pop.
Over just eight days of testing, the group has collected and submitted over 350 samples, 256 of which have returned results — all negative. For comparison, in the first 60 days, DHEC had tested 300 Pickens County residents.
County employees have been tested, and an invitation was extended to the local municipalities’ police and fire departments as well, King said.
Taking the test is simple: You spit in a tube up to the bottom line. If results are negative, you get an email. If positive, a phone call.
The saliva tests are more accurate than the nasal swab ones, but aren’t currently being used by DHEC because they can’t be reimbursed for them, Collins said. The lab at USC is working on modifying the tests to check for COVID-19 antibodies as well, which would tell a person not only if they have COVID-19 — but if they’ve been exposed.
Bracken said the group kept the idea under wraps for the first three weeks, wanting to make sure the infrastructure was solidly in place before making a formal announcement on Monday.
All agreed the program would not have been possible without the positive relationships that have been built up between the County, the municipalities, local legislators, business owners and community leaders.
“This would never have happened four years ago,” said Roper. “You have to have that communication in place.”
So, will it work? Collins says it already is.
“I had a local business owner call me after one of their employees had tested positive (for COVID-19),” said Collins. “They were upset, they didn’t know where to turn. We were able to go ahead and go in and test the rest of their staff. That’s the whole idea. Now, instead of having to wait — and those employees having to wonder whether or not they’ve contracted it — they’ll get their results in a few days and they’ll know.”
King, who is a Nurse Practitioner in a retail health setting, said she was frustrated at the lack of testing available on a local level. Bracken said he wanted to get involved simply out of a desire to help.
“This is an extraordinary time and for me, it was a simple decision to make,” he said. “We’re all having to make sacrifices, this was just a way for me to serve.”
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