Metro Roundup: Assurance Labs reflects on COVID-19 testing while looking toward future

In January, before the United States had its first confirmed case of COVID-19, Assurance Scientific Laboratories in Vestavia Hills began working on the test for the virus that has since impacted the entire globe.

The cases began rising in China, prompting scientists at Assurance to begin developing the test, said Dr. Chad Austin, co-founder and chairman at Assurance.

At first, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not cleared private labs to test for the virus, but it changed course in March, prompting Assurance to seek an emergency authorization from the FDA, something Austin said he expected would be a “long process.”

However, Austin said they got the go-ahead in just a few days, with official approval arriving March 11.

The lab became one of the first five private labs in the United States to test for the virus, testing a little more than 1,000 people in two days time, using a drive-thru system at its site.

Austin said despite how quickly things changed, it was not a frantic pace at the labs, but more of a surreal, “amped up” experience with everyone putting in as many hours as needed to help Alabamians who may have contracted COVID-19.

The lab started as a medical practice in 2009, with the lab coming onboard in 2014, specifically working with infectious diseases for the last six years. The lab has been running and testing respiratory panels for strep and other diseases for four years.

However, while the lab typically handled 200 samples a day before the pandemic, that shot up to 1,000 per day during COVID-19 testing, Austin said.

Austin said the lab eventually took a step back from running the drive-thru testing to focus on ensuring accurate results, turning down “quite a bit of business” to be able to maintain quality results.

No employees were laid off during the work, and space was repurposed, doubling the size of the lab in about a week, Austin said.

Shawn Hood, CEO and partner at Assurance, said the lab partnered with Christ Health, Church of the Highlands and Thrive in Huntsville to do the testing and help as many people as possible.

“As we learned, we were happy to share what we had,” Hood said.

The labs also did testing for urgent care clinics in Gardendale and Trussville, and Hood said they partnered with nursing homes and assisted living facilities to provide enough tests for them.

They also performed corporate testing for places such as Hyundai and Alabama Power.

Hood said Assurance also made a “significant investment” into its lab information system.

Now, as the pandemic continues to spread, Assurance is continuing its work, focusing on how it can help now and in the future.

Austin said they will continue to have multiple shifts for their employees and might soon have more drive-thru and drive-up testing. The lab also has added COVID-19 to its testing panel and is working to provide more at-home testing using Everlywell to do that.

Using Everlywell, patients will go online to see if they meet the criteria for testing, and if so, they will use a nasal swab to collect a sample and send it off to Assurance or to another lab.

Due to the nearly constant work of Assurance’s staff, the lab can now focus on providing quick results for people who utilize their services, and can do so accurately, Hood said.

“Our staff has stepped up and demonstrated they are up to it,” Hood said.

Austin echoed Hood’s sentiment.

“It’s been great to see those people come in, fired up, ready to work,” Austin said.

The Vestavia community has made a difference, too, providing lunches and coffee to the lab’s employees.

“It’s a big pick-me up,” Austin said.

For more information about Assurance, visit assurancescientificlabs.com.