Author/Authors :
Crawford, James M. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA , Aguero-Rosenfeld, Maria E. Department of Pathology - New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA , Aifantis, Ioannis Department of Pathology - New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA , Cadoff, Evan M. Department of Pathology - Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA , Cangiarella, Joan F. Department of Pathology - New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA , Cordon-Cardo, Carlos Department of Pathology - Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine - Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA , Cushing, Melissa Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA , Firpo-Betancourt, Aldolfo Department of Pathology - Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine - Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA , Fox, Amy S. Department of Pathology - Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA , Furuya, Yoko Department of Pathology and Cell Biology - Columbia University, New York, NY, USA , Hacking, Sean Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA , Jhang, Jeffrey Department of Pathology - Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine - Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA , Leonard, Debra G. B. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Robert Larner MD College of Medicine - University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA , Libien, Jenny Department of Pathology - SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY, USA , Loda, Massimo Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA , Mendu, Damadora Rao Department of Pathology - Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine - Icahn School of Medicine - Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA , Mulligan, Mark J. Department of Microbiology - New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
Abstract :
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, created an unprecedented need for comprehensive laboratory testing of populations, in order to meet the needs of medical practice and to guide the management and functioning of our society. With the greater New York metropolitan area as an epicenter of this pandemic beginning in March 2020, a consortium of laboratory leaders from the assembled New York academic medical institutions was formed to help identify and solve the challenges of deploying testing. This report brings forward the experience of this consortium, based on the real-world challenges which we encountered in testing patients and in supporting the recovery effort to reestablish the health care workplace. In coordination with the Greater New York Hospital Association and with the public health laboratory of New York State, this consortium communicated with state leadership to help inform public decision-making addressing the crisis. Through the length of the pandemic, the consortium has been a critical mechanism for sharing experience and best practices in dealing with issues including the following: instrument platforms, sample sources, test performance, pre- and post-analytical issues, supply chain, institutional testing capacity, pooled testing, biospecimen science, and research. The consortium also has been a mechanism for staying abreast of state and municipal policies and initiatives, and their impact on institutional and laboratory operations. The experience of this consortium may be of value to current and future laboratory professionals and policy-makers alike, in dealing with major events that impact regional laboratory services
