BioReference Laboratories, Elmwood Park, NJ, an Opko Health company, is collaborating with the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (NYC Health + Hospitals) to provide coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) testing. NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public healthcare system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. BioReference Laboratories commits to testing 5,000 New Yorkers each day.
“This expanded testing for NYC Health + Hospitals is critical to protecting the New Yorkers most at risk in this epidemic, especially our seniors and people with chronic health problems,” says New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are in a race against time, and we are trying to rapidly make up the ground lost by the federal government in the initial weeks of this crisis. The new partnership between NYC Health + Hospitals and BioReference means increased testing and faster results—helping save lives.”
“In support of the public health system as they provide healthcare to vulnerable and at-risk populations, BioReference is committed to prioritizing hospital patients suspected of covid-19 infections and aiding front-line physicians and healthcare providers to quickly and efficiently diagnose patients,” says Jon R. Cohen, MD, executive chairman of BioReference Laboratories. “In addition to the drive-through facilities, this collaboration is yet another example of how the private sector can assist with government agencies to help combat this epidemic.”
Read more from BioReference Laboratories.
