Photo By Sgt. Michael Baltz | Denise Reynolds (left), the chief nursing officer at Memorial Hospital West, discuss...... read more read more
Subscribe
MIRAMAR, Fla. – (March 16, 2020) – Florida National Guard (FLNG) Soldiers and Airmen arrive in Broward County to establish drive-thru testing facilities within the upcoming days in support of the Florida Department of Health’s coronavirus response.
The drive-thru testing facility will allow those who meet the Center for Disease Control’s criteria to provide a specimen within their vehicle for testing. Servicemember will take swabs and ship them to a lab where results will be routed to the Florida Department of Health.
“[The test] will allow citizens to see if they have this virus, so we can quarantine them,” said Col. Roy Bassett, the state surgeon with the FLNG. “We can let them know they should quarantine themselves to protect their families and to protect their community.”
Broward County carries the bulk of Florida’s 160 cases at 39 according to the Florida Department of Health, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ensuring Florida residence have access to free testing to help prevent the virus from spreading.
“The greater picture is the epidemiology situation,” said Bassett. “We are doing things to get in front of this virus, so we can lower the curve and protect people.”
The drive-thru testing will duplicate similar processes in other states like California and New York. There will be lanes for cars to enter and servicemembers, who are trained combat medics, will focus on collecting quality samples.
“We have qualified [servicemembers] to get the mission done, so it just makes sense,” said Staff. Sgt. Patrick Salas, with the FLNG’s 54th Security Force Assistance Brigade. “A lot of [servicemembers] are in the medical industry on the civilian side, so they are just great resources.”
In an effort to combat the virus from spreading into the FLNG’s operation, leadership and each servicemembers will play a vital role.
“We screen [servicemembers] before they get here and before they start their duty,” said Bassett. “We screen them to makes sure we are not bringing the virus into our unit. We are also training [servicemembers] to protect themselves: basic hand washing, hand cleansing and personal care.”
The drive-thru operation is multiagency effort and includes local law enforcement, hospitals, park managers and various state agency.
“It takes a whole team,” said Bassett. “It takes all of us to get in front of this pandemic. It’s a big operation.”
Please visit the www.cdc.gov for the testing criteria and other information on the coronavirus.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2020 09:00 |
| Story ID: | 365343 |
| Location: | MIRAMAR, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 319 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, FLNG Soldiers and Airmen arrive in Broward County for Coronavirus Response, by SGT Michael Baltz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
