AdventHealth, who relies on third-party labs to provide test results, has terminated a contract with one lab after unacceptable delays.
“Unfortunately, one of these labs processing a significant number of our public tests has been unable to fulfill its obligation,” officials said.
Officials were not clear as to what exactly caused the delays and which lab was terminated.
“AdventHealth has advised that one of the labs they were using for the sputum based COVID-19 testing at our Daytona State College - Palm Coast testing site was unreliable. They are taking responsibility and will be contacting the impacted individuals directly to offer options,” Flagler County Emergency Services wrote on Twitter.
According to a news release, the issue impacts more than 25,000 people throughout Central Florida.
“This situation has created unacceptable delays, and we do not have confidence in the reliability of the tests. We are working diligently to notify and appropriately accommodate those who are impacted,” officials added.
Those affected will receive a letter or phone call from AdventHealth.
According to officials, these individuals fall into two categories:
1. Those whose samples were processed, and whose results provided by the lab are not deemed reliable.
- Individuals who had unreliable positive results will require retesting.
- Individuals with unreliable negative results who are symptomatic need to seek care and may require retesting.
- Individuals with unreliable negative results who are asymptomatic but request to be retested will be offered testing pending availability.
2. Those whose samples are at the lab in question and are part of the backlog will not be tested; therefore no result will be available.
- These patients may require retesting if they are symptomatic.
- We have directed the lab to destroy these samples in accordance with the law.
“We take our responsibility to safeguard everyone who entrusts us with their care very seriously. We’ve made significant investments to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 in Central Florida and will continue to stand beside our neighbors in these unprecedented times,” said Daryl Tol, president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division. “Teams across our organization are working around-the-clock to remedy the situation. We will continue to lead, innovate and care for those impacted by COVID-19. We remain committed to our purpose of providing whole-person and whole-community health.”