 I want to thank everyone who made the start of our COVID-19 Titan Testing a success.
It took a tremendous effort with many moving pieces to pull off testing 149 student-athletes last Thursday and Friday so that they could participate in tryouts for winter sports.
This list includes, but is by no means limited to the following individuals and partnering organizations:
- Our partners at Lorain County Public Health and Mercy Health of Lorain who have provided constant guidance and supports to keep our community safe. This has taken place through countless videoconference calls and emails to share their expert knowledge, workflows and training, all while connecting us with actual tests and personal protective equipment during a time when these materials are hard to come by. Special thanks to Lorain County Public Health Commissioner David Covell and Epidemiologist Mitch Dandurand, and Mercy Health of Lorain’s CEO Edwin Oley, COO Mark Rau, COO Char Wray, Director of Community Health Catherine Woskobnick, and many, many others who have chimed in with their expertise and support.
- CNP Katie Malear and our healthcare professionals who stood out in the rain in their PPE gear during wind and rain to administer 149 tests. They’ll be back at it again tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20th to finish up. Student athletes who wish to participate in winter sports and still need their mandatory COVID test should meet us at George Daniels Field between 9:00AM and 3:00PM. Bring your completed consent forms to expedite the process. Special thanks to our Executive Director of Family Engagement Jeff Keruski and District Nurse Laura DeLambo for coordinating this effort on the ground.
- Case Western Reserve University’s Dr. Prakash Ganesh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health School of Medicine, who is working with us on a separate project to study the transmission of COVID-19 in schools. Participation in this study, when it begins, will be completely optional. We will provide additional details soon about when the study will begin, how it will be administered, how you can participate, and how your testing information will be used to keep Lorain and other communities safe.
- The City of Lorain, Mayor Jack Bradley and Lorain City Council Members for exploring ways to appropriate federal grant funds to this initiative through CARES Act relief.
- Our many parents, coaches and student-athletes who showed up for testing, spread the word, and helped one another with the short timeline and logistics necessary to pull this off.
Now that we are finishing up testing with our student-athletes, we will be scheduling additional dates and times to offer free COVID-19 Titan Testing to our staff and students each week.
Check out our new COVID-19 Dashboard for ongoing test results, detailed information about our testing partnership and what you can do to keep Lorain safe during the pandemic. Thanks, Jeff |