A Boise-based entrepreneur, Steve Verschoor has experience in the engineering and sales sector spanning more than three decades. Steve Verschoor is a co-founder of Molecular Testing Labs, a Washington-based testing and diagnostic facility that partnered with the Washington Department of Health to provide accessible testing for COVID-19 to the residents of nursing home facilities.
The Washington Department of Health (DOH) recognized the fact that patients in nursing home facilities have a high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the congregate nature of the communities, which raises the rates of infection and mortality. To minimize risk, the DOH and Department of Social Health and Services (DSHS) provided COVID-19 safety guidance that many senior living facilities were able to adopt to protect their residents. However, chances of patient exposure could not be eradicated completely through conventional safety measures like visitor restriction, since personnel enter and leave the facilities frequently. An additional bottleneck is the fact that some infection carriers do not show symptoms, which means that screening methods like temperature checks may fail to identify a carrier. To maximize infection control efforts, new orders regarding patient and staff testing had to be put in place.
To ensure that all facilities could comply with the mandated COVID-19 testing without risking their safety, the State of Washington contracted with the University of Washington Department of Virology and Molecular Testing Labs in June 2020 to provide the required testing services. With the help of these organizations, the state provided personal protective equipment and test kits to residents and staff. Patients with Washington State Health Care Authority, or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services protections also had their bills covered by the respective organizations.
Steve Verschoor 