Methodist Healthcare Creates Special Drive-through Testing Clinic for Employees

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Methodist Healthcare has gone the extra mile to support its employees. When the Omicron variant surged last fall, the collaboration and innovation of leaders throughout the system resulted in the creation of the COVID-19 Testing Drive-through Clinic for Employees. “We heard from employees that they were having a difficult time getting tested,” said Emily Heffron, Division Director

of People Operations, Strategy & Improvement Project

Management. “When the surge hit, sites for COVID testing were limited, and if you were able to find a site, there were significant wait times for testing.” Natalie Martinez, RN, peri-operative clinical nurse lead at Methodist Hospital who was involved in the effort, realized the seriousness of the situation. “When the surge hit, our employees couldn’t work until they were tested. This affected our staffing, which in turn affects patient care,” she said.

“We saw the need and wanted to support our employees. HR, Employee Health, and Division strategy teams came together to find a solution,” said Emily. After planning sessions in late December, the committee launched the COVID-19 Testing Drive-through Clinic in January. Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital became the COVID-19 Testing Drive-through Clinic for employees. Free testing was available to all employees working under the Methodist Healthcare brand.

When an employee felt ill or thought he or she had been exposed to the virus, they called the employee health nurse at their facility. The nurse determined if testing was needed. Drive-through testing was conducted Monday through Friday. Results were available in two hours for tests done Monday through Thursday, and results for Friday tests were available the next Monday. Each swab test took about 3 minutes. At the height of clinic use, 94 employees were tested in one day. Employees who tested negative received a text message with the results. Employee health nurses called employees who tested positive and talked with them about next steps. “Our teams are already faced with COVID-19 challenges every day,” said Emily. “So, when COVID impacts our employees, it is critical we provide support for them however we can.”

“The collaboration among departments was inspiring,” said Emily. “At the beginning each hospital provided their own teams to staff the clinic. Many departments pitched in on top of their regular assignments to help with the process— we couldn’t have done it without Employee Health, HR, Methodist Hospital Lab, IT, and Registration, to name a few.