Old Dominion University established the COVID Response Team in the early part of the year 2020, not long after the pandemic made its initial appearance, in order to meet the unprecedented demand to protect students, faculty, and staff. This was done in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Since the day it first opened its doors, the laboratory has been responsible for conducting nearly 20,000 different kinds of tests.
The most recent surge in patient volume has begun to level off, and in preparation for the shift, the laboratory is getting ready to shift its focus to other types of diagnostic testing. The Old Dominion University has established a model for higher learning that serves as a guide for the development of similar institutions. They did this in collaboration with representatives from the Office of Risk Management, Student Health Services, the COVID Care Team, Student Engagement and Enrollment Services, Environmental Health and Safety, and the College of Health Sciences so that they could determine what actions would be required moving forward. After that, despite the fact that he was not connected with a medical school, he assumed responsibility for leading the group through the procedures required to obtain a high-complexity Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 certification. The successful establishment of the Monarch Molecular Lab, which required a significant amount of effort, xrf spectrometer cooperation, and passion on the part of all parties involved, has made it possible for the university to resume the practice of accepting new students. This was made possible as a direct result of the efforts that were put in by everyone involved. This act of altruism resulted in the donation of a gift that cannot be put a price on: their time.
Mollica is in charge of managing a team that includes three full-time molecular technologists, several part-time technologists, and graduate students studying biomedical sciences. In her role as clinical director, Mollica is responsible for overseeing this group. In order to ensure that the laboratory operates in the most effective manner possible, Mollica made the decision to hire Delaney Leathers, who has previous experience working as a clinical laboratory supervisor. On occasion, the laboratory will remain open later than usual in order to finish the processing of late-arriving tests and to thoroughly clean and sanitize the facility. This will require the laboratory to remain open later than usual. They were able to get themselves ready for the surge in testing that occurred after the omicron variant became available toward the end of 2021. This allowed them to maximize their efficiency.
Over the course of several years, the ODU's COVID testing has evolved into an effective and smoothly running operation. The testing center can be found in the annex that is connected to the Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building on campus. The University is responsible for making this particular arrangement feasible. The examinations are carried out by the molecular laboratory technologists, who then report their findings to the Student Health Services once the tests are complete. The two of these home appliances can be found in the same room.
During the preliminary stages of the project, the group set up a temporary testing center in Chartway Arena in conjunction with the professionals who were providing technical support from Information Technology Services (ITS). The outcomes of the laboratory examinations are communicated to the Student Health Services by means of a piece of specialized computer software. Despite this, the cobas® 6800 was made available to the general public only a few short months after its initial release.
Not only could the laboratory provide testing for a variety of medical issues for the students, but it could also provide testing for members of the community who are in need. This was stated by Aaron Harrison, who is a molecular technologist.
The CLIA certification held by the laboratory is what enables the facility to carry out research and develop its very own tests. These capabilities are available to the facility as a result of the certification. XRF is also possible for it to work in conjunction with other organizations that are located on campus, such as the ODU Primary Care Clinic that will soon be opening and the Center for Telehealth Innovation, Education, and Research. Both of these facilities will be opening their doors to patients very soon.
A doctoral degree in biomedical sciences. She was considering the many different resources that were given to the laboratory at that precise moment in time.
