HJNO Jan/Feb 2021

38 JAN / FEB 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS COLUMN PEDIATRIC COVID-19 is not convenient. Masks, iso- lation and quarantines are practices that very few people have experienced prior to 2020. If you are remembering the days of having one to two patients in some form of isolation, it can be laughable how cum- bersome the donning and doffing of PPE felt at the time. Now masking and distanc- ing is a routine in our lives, mostly. So, has healthcare evolved its model to keep the COVID-19 patient in mind? Virtual care has gone viral, hospitals screen their vis- itors, and policies have been changed to limit visitors. Do these operational chang- es keep the patient and the family at the center? In this rapidly changing environ- ment, is there room for convenience? The answer must always be yes. As guidelines change, hospitals and provid- ers must remain on their toes, poised to pivot and recalculate. This is what Chil- dren’s Hospital New Orleans considered when partnering with New Orleans Public Schools to provide COVID-19 testing that is both convenient and caring. The prob- lem presented itself plainly. For children to return to school, there needs to be test- ing that is fast, easy and accessible. It also needed to be child, guardian and teacher friendly. Contact tracing and hot spot iden- tification must also be delivered. The evolution of “testing on the go” began with the simple identification that not every existing testing location was willing or able to swab children. Setting up appointments for multiple members of a household can involve multiple ap- pointments and multiple locations. Many people know already, it is hard enough to corral children to the grocery with their masks, let alone to multiple clinics. So, family-centered care must first focus on accessible testing for a household, not just a single patient. What about the teachers? They, too, are on the front lines and must have easy access. A second consideration is accessibility and proximity for schools. How do you CHILDREN’S HEALTH COVID-19 TESTING ON THE GO