Bryan Health on Friday gave an update on the steps it's taking to prepare for the eventual likely spread of the novel coronavirus to Lincoln.
Though none of the confirmed 14 cases in Nebraska were in Lancaster County, officials have said it's inevitable that it will eventually show up locally.
One of the biggest steps Bryan Health plans to take is offering drive-thru testing for COVID-19 for people who are exhibiting symptoms.
The health system said the testing will be done at its Bryan LifePointe Campus near 27th Street and Pine Lake Road and will begin as soon as it receives confirmation of delivery of additional test kits.
Right now, Bryan gets the equivalent of about 50 test kits a month, which so far has been adequate to test the number of people it has seen who meet the federal and/or state criteria for testing. However, it's working to try to get more test kits before offering the drive-thru service.
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The testing will be available to people who have completed a screening to confirm their symptoms and risk factors, Bryan Health said in a news release.
The tests are done using a nose swab, and they are evaluated at the state medical lab, although Lisa Vail, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for Bryan Health, said it's working on setting up its own system to evaluate the tests on-site.
Also at Bryan Urgent Care, located on the LifePointe campus, there will be a separate, dedicated area to screen people experiencing upper respiratory illness.
Bryan Health also said Friday that its ezVisit telehealth service is offering complimentary visits for people experiencing symptoms of an upper respiratory infection. Patients must use the promo code COVID19.
In addition, the health system announced that it now has an online coronavirus screening tool and hotline.
John Woodrich, executive vice president of Bryan Health and president and CEO of Bryan Medical Center, said Bryan is trying to create alternatives for people who may not be able to get in to see their doctors, "so they don't come to the emergency room."
Those moves follow similar action taken by CHI Health earlier this week.
CHI Health said Friday that more than 42,000 people have viewed the coronavirus risk-assessment questionnaire on its website and at least 22 people have been referred for further testing.
“When you limit exposure, you limit the spread of the virus. Rather than having (thousands of) people visiting their doctor’s office, potentially sharing germs, you only have 22,†Dr. Renuga Vivekanandan, an infectious disease specialist at CHI Health, said in a news release.
A CHI Health spokesperson said the system is in discussions on ways to expand testing where needed.
Bryan officials provided a stark reminder Friday about how much of an issue it could cause if lots of cases start showing up.
Dr. John Trapp, vice president for medical affairs, said that on average, the hospital system's beds are 90% full with patients there because of seasonal illness, injuries and other medical conditions.
Despite the potential for a COVID-19 outbreak, he said Bryan is not rescheduling elective procedures or making other moves to reduce the patient load.
"At this point, it's operations as normal," he said.
Things could change, though, Trapp said, pointing out that based on what's happened globally, there's an expectation that there will be continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the U.S.