St. John’s Health Foundation Funds COVID-19 Antibody Testing For Front Line Hospital Employees and Other Area First Responders

In another extraordinary act of benevolence for our community, local businessman Tom Katis has enabled St. John’s Health to procure enough UBI® SARS-CoV-2 ELISA blood antibody tests to begin testing hospital employees, EMS, firefighters, police officers and other first responders as early as next week.

The importance of this testing cannot be overstated. This simple blood test, administered two times, ten days apart, is different from the standard COVID-19 test that diagnoses active virus. The antibody test will reveal whether the individuals have been exposed to the coronavirus and developed the antibodies that would give them immunity to it.

The test is manufactured by United Biomedical and its Covaxx subsidiary. The test delivers results in 2-3 hours.

This information will protect our front line staff and the community’s first responders, keeping those with immunity in place to care for sick patients; it will also protect our entire community which will be able to seek the medical care they need without fear of contracting the virus when they seek medical care from a health care provider. For those without the antibody, it will allow them to continue to care for the sick by appropriately using PPE.

“St. John’s Health is so very grateful to Tom Katis who has stepped forward once again to support St. John’s Health with vital equipment and supplies that will help treat COVID-19 in our community,” said Foundation President, John Goettler. Tom’s gift last week of a $100,000 challenge grant to purchase 10 new ventilators the hospital was able to procure has already been met with widespread community support, and the equipment is on the way.

“Ordering necessary supplies for a hospital to do its work used to be a routine task. Today I put it in the realm of herculean effort,” said St. John’s Health CEO, Paul Beaupré. “But the response to the Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund is overwhelmingly gratifying. I urge everyone who can to donate. From small to large donations, we are putting every bit of it directly to work for our hospital employees and the equipment we need to fight this virus.”

If you would like to make a financial contribution in support of the COVID-19 Response Fund, please click here or contact John Goettler at 307/739-7516.