Sarasota Memorial Hospital begins in-house COVID-19 testing

Sarasota Memorial Hospital is now conducting in-house testing for COVID-19, allowing physicians and patients to get results more quickly without relying on outside labs.

The hospital received the testing equipment last week, which enables the hospital to obtain results in under two hours, according to a release. The release says outside testing took anywhere from 24 hours to more than 10 days to produce results depending on the capacity of outside labs.

“It makes a huge difference, especially when we can turn it around so quickly," said Harold Vore, director of laboratory services for SMH, in the release. "It allows us to conserve personal protective equipment, which is very important right now. It also reduces tremendous amounts of stress on the patient and the staff taking care of the patient. They no longer have to go into isolation if they are negative.”

The hospital said it is conducting in-house tests for about 25-30 patients daily because of the limited availability of supplies. The hospital is prioritizing “those in critical and time-sensitive situations.”

The hospital announced the death of another COVID-19 positive patient today, the 13th death associated with the disease at the facility. SMH has 32 hospitalized patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, including one employee. Two suspected COVID-19 patients are in isolation as of Thursday afternoon.