MADISON — Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic hit in March of 2020, UW Health reports that its performed nearly 200,000 COVID-19 tests.
UW Health says that many lab leaders and other hard-working employees have worked 80-100 hours per week to achieve this milestone.
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Although difficult at first as more tests were needed to keep up with demand, the UW Health team persevered. The Molecular Diagnostic Lab, part of the UW Health Laboratory Services, began running COVID-19 tests last March and soon started to operate 24/7.
“To run this testing 24/7, it was all hands-on deck. We added extra shifts, learned new duties, moved staff around and moved some of our testing to other labs,” said Michele Marggi, laboratory director for UW Health Clinical Laboratory. “So much went into this response -gathering supplies, working through the regulatory aspects, adjusting schedules, rewriting policies, training new staff, and much more.”