Test Nebraska is partnering with Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha to offer mobile COVID-19 testing for children up to 18 years old. Within a day’s notice, Children’s team of experts will travel to schools or daycares to provide testing for all students and staff should an outbreak occur. Test Nebraska will provide the testing kits and CHI Health’s laboratory will process the tests.
David Fett-Jones is the vice president of clinical and ancillary services at Children's Hospital. He said typically, school administrators would need to contact the state Department of Health and Human Services to have testing arranged, so the partnership is very important.
"The actual swabbing that occurs, does involve inserting something into your nose," Fett-Jones said. "So being able to work with kids and talk about how that transitions, and what it feels like, and having all those really great people-friendly kids skills, is really an asset that we bring to this situation."
The Children’s team will travel up to 200 miles from Omaha, with a potential to go farther. The partnership runs through the end of October with an option to extend if needed.