A woman collects verification materials for a patient to use a self-administered coronavirus check at Pridgeon Stadium, one of Harris Health County’s 8 coronavirus sites, Friday, July 31, 2020, in Cypress. July 31, 2020 in Cypress.
A woman collects check materials for a patient to use a self-administered coronavirus check at Pridgeon Stadium, one of 8 coronavirus sites in Harris County, Friday, July 31, 2020, in
A woman collects verification materials for a patient to use a self-administered coronavirus check at Pridgeon Stadium, one of Harris Health County’s 8 coronavirus sites, Friday, July 31, 2020, in Cypress. July 31, 2020 in Cypress.
A woman collects check materials for a patient to use a self-administered coronavirus check at Pridgeon Stadium, one of 8 coronavirus sites in Harris County, Friday, July 31, 2020, in
At 4:30 a.m., Luisa Torres and her colleague opened the gates of 11355 Falcon Road at Cypress Fairbanks. They park their cars within walking distance of the traffic and car lines you’ll see the day. Behind them is a dark, forced shadow of a silhouette, which is slowly shown as Pridgeon Stadium when the sun rises.
They are there for a task larger than the one found on the adjacent football field. Torres leads a team from the Harris County Public Health site that will review citizens for the dreaded coronavirus that continues to spread like a wildfire on a hot Texas beach.
For some of those who are testing, it will be a few weeks before they recover. Others will sigh relieved that they don’t have a victim. However, a developing number will notice that the adventure of life can take a disturbing turn.
Torres and your turn will turn on a set of turbines that will give them the ability to run printers, a refrigerator to cool collected samples, enthusiasts to stay cool and lights. They turn their attention to the site itself, making sure everything is in place. Tents, cones and symptoms have been there since they began their discovery project with nervous citizens visiting the site for testing since June 1.
“We installed the thermometers so we can do temperature checks when we arrive around five in the morning,” he says.
They have a few minutes to calm down, then they gather, socially distant, for an early morning briefing before other people’s hordes begin to arrive.
Website:
Here is the link to the HCPH COVID page with resources, information, address documents and our dashboard.
http://stgpublichealth.harriscountytx.gov/Resources/2019-Novel-Coronavirus
TEST REGISTRATION:
As discussed above, citizens can register at 832-927-7575 or on our website. The direct link for citizens to log in and use our app is http://covidcheck.hctx.net/
WEEKLY TEST NUMBERS ON HCPH SITES:
Here are the check figures for July and the weekly totals below. The last two weeks have declined somewhat, largely due to climate disorders at sites.
29/06 – 5/7 13126
6/7 – 7/12 12450
13/7 – 19/07 11942
20/07 – 26/07 9013
THE TEST SITE:
-He’s free
: No identification required
: It’s a self-assessment site
Requires an online or registration code
It is intended for public fitness workers, nurses, staff, law enforcement and volunteers.
“We give them all the reminders of the day,” he said, followed by a stretching regimen to strain the staff who know that his paintings are essential in the front lines.
“We’ll also play some music so things start on the right side,” he said.
They are then dispersed to the assigned area, either the verification area, the login or registration area, and take out the materials and iPads that are charged for the day of the paintings.
Before opening, Torres huddled with the organization at his station.
“Just to give them reminders of their roles for the day,” she says.
And then the doors open temporarily at 6 a.m.
Like a flood, cars arrive in a queue that never ends.
“That’s when we see the maximum traffic, it’s early in the morning,” she says.
When prospective patients arrive, they go to the registration store where they provide their registration number when they completed the online data the day before.
“Once we’ve been provided with the code, we use an iPad to retrieve your data online and we know everything is right,” he said.
They print the data and deliver it to the patient and send it to a station.
“This isn’t for tours without an appointment,” he said. “They register online or call us first to log in.”
Once they have their data in hand, they go to the tent, where a nurse or doctor tells them how to manage their own matrix.
“It’s an examination that rubs itself. It all depends on what you’re visiting,” she says. “Some of our cell phones have nurses who stamp you.”
The desk bound for Pridgeon and someone else in San Jacinto in East Harris County are diapers.
They get a kit that involves their swab, a tube that will include the swab and a label with their data published on it.
The patient then rubs the nose and pattern to the nurse or doctor.
“It’ll take 7 to 10 days,” she says.
Some cell phones can take two to 3 days.
“With some of the labs we paint with, this is a national problem, there’s a significant buildup of results,” said Sam Bissett, Harris County Public Health Communications Specialist.
“What we advise is to ask them to call us if we will do everything we can to paint with LabCorp or Quest to locate those effects a little faster,” he said.
The delay is one and Bissett said they continue to paint with his associates, adding Baylor College of Medicine.
An additional label with your data is attached to the tube and a chain is followed to avoid confusion.
“Then we verify in our quality domain that the data matches, we keep the blank bags and then store them in the refrigerator for later in the day,” he said.
The Pridgeon site has capacity to receive between 750 and 800 applicants a day and, from June, Torres said it will continue to meet its capacity.
Closing at 1 p.m.
“We’ll take cars from any car inside to the door,” he said. “I think a lot of other people know our hours and our regimen now and they don’t need to be here when the heat comes.”
Temperatures on the automotive park floor can reach more than one hundred degrees in the summer heat.
The site has 20 clinical staff members, about 30 support staff members, volunteers, law enforcement officers, public fitness officials, a logistics team, Torres and some other site administrator.
The self-swab choice eliminates the need for Torres and her team to have the normally required PPE.
“We just wear gloves and mask to do our homework because we don’t get in touch with patients,” he said.
The one in cars doesn’t slow down, it stays stable.
“We were in Katy from March 20 to May 31,” he said.
There have been stationary control sites since last February and early March.
“Originally, we were in Katy and Baytown. Since then, we have expanded four other cell sites with one of the 4 districts for some of the under- neglected areas,” Bissett said.
“It’s a massive county, so we signed up to accommodate as many of them as possible. We’re working with commissioners to tell us where we have cellular sites in their constituencies,” he said.
Previously, cellular sites can take only 150, however, this number has increased to two hundred in the last two weeks.
“We’re also approaching their ability,” Bissett said.
Once you have returned your pattern tube, you receive a handful of documentation.
“It not only details how to get their results, but what to do after you’ve been tested, next steps if you test negative or positive, and we do give them education on how to self-isolate and best practices to stay safe,” he said.
Two are on site, Harris County Public Health and a physical fitness officer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We are in constant communication with the DSHS (Texas State Department of Health Services), which will provide more at a later date and will also have some of your agents on the floor with us,” Bissett said.
Bissett said they were offering updated figures not only daily, but in some cases, hourly.
“They have their own reports they have to deal with like all other counties,” he said.
Before leaving the matrix, all verification kits that were made for the day are packaged and LabCorp takes samples of those delivered for verification.
Bissett pointed out that one of the advantages they have over other testing sites is that they’re free.
“If you feel like you’ve been exposed to the virus, you can get tested,” he said. It noted that their tracking was done through the code they obtained from their registration.
To sign up for the testing, visit the Harris County Public Health website at http://covidcheck.hctx.net/ or call 832-927-7575.