Dignity Health | St. Rose Dominican | Reach | Winter 2020

StRoseHospitals.org  5 At the start of the pandemic, the lab at the Siena Campus took a front-row seat, becoming one of the first labs to perform on-site testing for COVID-19 and the first lab in the Las Vegas valley to test for COVID-19 antibodies. Deb LaCava, Lab Director at the Siena Campus, says, “The significance in the tests our lab performs is the rapid turnaround times and the high accuracy of the test results.” While most tests take from 6 to 24 hours to get results, the Siena lab has the ability to process tests in as little as 45 minutes. Siena’s lab also has the capability of testing for COVID-19 antibodies. That helps determine whether a patient has been exposed to the virus in the past and if they have the antibodies that are contained in blood plasma. Those antibodies are being studied as a possible treatment for COVID-19 patients. The Siena lab is playing a supporting role in a national convalescent plasma study by the Mayo Clinic. To further the study and increase the availability of convalescent plasma, the lab teamworked with health officials to conduct the first convalescent blood drive in Nevada history. The first units from the donated plasma were returned to Siena and used to treat patients. Food and Nutrition The old idiom “an army marches on its stomach” rings true in a modern-day hospital, where 12-hour shifts are common. In addition to providing meals for patients, the hospital Food and Nutrition team provides nutritious options for hospital staff, available day and night. On a busy day, time is short and food is crucial. The same is true when hospital workers finally clock out to go home. But in the early days of the pandemic, grocery store shelves were often bare of essentials needed to feed a family and keep a home clean. Recognizing he could help with this issue, Siena Campus Nutritional Services Director Richard Woods worked with his team and vendors to provide a solution. Both the San Martín and Siena Campuses capitalized on his idea to create on-site grocery stores inside each hospital. Hard-to-get necessities, including milk, eggs, meat, bread, and pre-made, ready-to-heat meals were available for purchase. Cleaning supplies, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and other non-food essentials were also stocked. Appreciative hospital staff took quickly to the convenient new outlet, and the concept was soon adopted by other Dignity Health hospitals in several states. Purchasing Supply and demand is the name of the game for any business. But in the midst of a pandemic, keeping a hospital supplied with personal protective equipment is literally life or death. This critical task fell to Purchasing Director John Liston and Materials Manager Robert Mills and their dedicated team. Liston was responsible for three hospitals in southern Nevada, as well as six more in southern California. —Continued on page 6 Our Siena Campus was one of the first labs to perform on-site testing for COVID-19 and the first lab in the Las Vegas valley to test for COVID-19 antibodies. Laboratory Services Team Nutrition Services Team