As healthcare systems across the United States were gearing up for the rising covid-19 pandemic, New Jersey-based Capital Health began developing a covid-19 blood antibody screening program for its employees to assess the prevalence of the infection among its workforce.
Eugene McMahon, MD, MBA, FCAP, Capital Health.
“Testing for the presence of the IgG antibody among our employees was a natural starting point for this study. Like healthcare workers all over the world, they’re looking this health crisis in the eye every day,” says Eugene McMahon, MD, MBA, FCAP, chief medical officer at Capital Health. “As the medical community’s understanding of covid-19 evolves, we believe that our antibody testing research will assist healthcare providers and patients alike.”
The IgG antibody research initiative began in mid-April with more than 1,200 employee volunteers contributing blood samples for the study. Capital Health partnered with FlowMetric, Doylestown, Pa, to create a screening program that follows the industry’s exacting protocols. Through this collaboration, Capital Health demonstrates how regional medical centers have important roles in the development of new diagnostics and treatments in medicine. After making each volunteer aware of their immune status, the goal of the study is to inform the medical community about the existence of immunity to covid-19 in healthcare settings and eventually the population at large.
Robert Remstein, DO, MBA, Capital Health.
“In order to continue to deliver the level of care that the people of central New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania expect, Capital Health needs to support its employees,” says Robert Remstein, DO, MBA, director of accountable care at Capital Health. “So far, the study has yielded significant information from employees at Capital Health, much of which can be applied to epidemiologic studies of the community and beyond.”
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