BAY.
BAY. BEFORE WE GOT TO THIS POINT...BEFORE WE WERE
UNDER THE THREAT OF
CRISIS STANDARDS OF
CARE...WE WERE UNDER
THE INDOCTRINATION
THAT TESTING WAS THE
KEY TO NOT ONLY
KEEPING TABS ON THE
CORONAVIRUS...BUT
KEEPING IT UNDER
CONTROL.
THAT BELIEF HASN'T
CHANGED SINCE MARCH.
BUT THE NUMBER OF
TESTS CERTAINLY HAS.
MORE THAN A
THOUSAND CONFIRMED
COVID CASES WERE
REPORTED YESTERDAY.
MORE THAN 104-
THOUSAND CONFIRMED
COVID CASES STATEWIDE
SINCE MARCH.
ALL CONFIRMED BY
TESTING.
AND THERE'S BEEN
NEARLY 800-THOUSAND
P-C-R TESTS
ADMINISTERED IN IDAHO
SINCE THEN.
DURING THAT FIRST WEEK
OF MARCH...ACCORDING
TO THE STATE'S
WEBSITE...THERE WERE
JUST 25 COVID TESTS
TAKEN ACROSS IDAHO.
DURING THE WEEK
BEFORE
THANKSGIVING...NEARLY
BEFORE THANKSGIVING...NEARLY 46-THOUSAND TESTS.
WE TOUCHED A LITTLE
ON THAT YESTERDAY...WE
SAW A SIGNIFICANT
INCREASE RIGHT BEFORE
THE HOLIDAY.
SO HOW BUSY DOES A
LABORATORY HAVE TO BE
TO PROCESS ALL OF
THESE?
THERE ARE MORE THAN
200 FACILITIES IN IDAHO
THAT REPORT POSITIVE
CASES OF COVID-19 TO
THE STATE.
ONE OF THOSE LABS IS IN
GARDEN CITY.
DOCTOR RYAN COLE
OWNS AND OPERATES
COLE DIAGNOSTICS...WHAT
HE SAYS IS THE LARGEST
INDEPENT LABRATORY IN
THE STATE OF IDAHO.
DOCTOR COLE TELLS US
HE IS LICENSED IN 12
STATES TO RUN LAB
TESTS...HE'S A BOARD-
CERTIFIED PATHOLOGIST,
AN ANATOMIC CLINICAL
DERMATOPATHOLOGIST,
TRAINED IN VIROLOGY
AND
AND IMMUNOLOGY. ALL VERY BIG AND IMPORTANT SOUNDING
WORDS TO TELL US HE
KNOWS WHAT HE'S
TALKING ABOUT WHEN IT
COMES TO THE
CORONAVIRUS.
AND DOCTOR COLE TELLS
US THEY HAVE NEVER
BEEN BUSIER AT COLE
DIAGNOSTICS...THAN
THEY'VE BEEN OVER THE
PAST FEW MONTHS.
SO MY AVERAGE
WORKDAY IS AT THE
MICROSCOPE LOOKING AT
PIECES
PIECES OF
PIECES OF PEOPLE ALL DAY LONG, DIAGNOSING CANCER, WHAT KIND,
HOW BAD,
HOW BAD,
COLLABORATING WITH THE PHYSICIANS ON TREATMENT PLANS FOR
THEIR PATIENTS, DOING
BLOOD WORK, DOING PAP
SMEARS FOR WOMEN'S
HEALTH.
I'VE SEEN ABOUT 600-
THOUSAND BIOPSIES IN
MY CAREER SO FAR...WOW
"YOU JUST COMPLETED
ANOTHER 27 HOUR DAY IS
THAT CORRECT?"
THAT IS CORRECT, I DID,
YEP I HAVEN'T SLEPT SINCE
YESTERDAY MORNING...
ARE YOU KIDDING?...
NO, IM NOT. YOU RUN
ON ADRENALINE AND
CAFFEINE AND THEN YOU
POWER NAP AND YOU GET
A COUPLE REM CYCLES IN
AND YOU WAKE UP AND
YOU DO IT ALL OVER
AGAIN
IT'S BEEN SPORADIC
SLEEP HERE AND THERE
FOR MONTHS ON END
AND THAT SLEEP IS
USUALLY TAKEN IN THAT
LEATHER CHAIR BEHIND
HIM
THAT'S MY BED AWAY
FROM HOME
DR COLE SAYS IN THE LAST
2 AND HALF MONTHS...HE
HAS SPENT FOUR FULL
DAYS AT HOME.
I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT
DAY OF THE WEEK IT IS
AND IT'S FUNNY CAUSE
TODAY'S MY WIFE'S
BIRTHDAY AND YESTERDAY
SHE WAS TALKING TO HER
SISTER AND I SAID, 'OH
WHO
WHO ARE
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?' AND SHE SAID, 'MY SISTER, SHE CALLED TO
WISH ME A HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TOMORROW'
I'M LIKE, 'OH, IT'S
DECEMBER 17TH
ALREADY?' SO, YEAH
OBVIOUSLY THE
PANDEMIC TOOK OFF, BUT
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE
THIS WAS REALLY GOING
TO START AFFECTING YOU,
PERSONALLY?
UM IN MARCH
IN MARCH WE SAW KIND
OF THIS IMPENDING WAVE
OF VIRUS COMING OUR
WAY. SO I WAS STUDYING
GENETIC PATTERNS, THE
MUTATIONS OF THE VIRUS
AND IT WAS HARD EARLY
ON TO TRY TO GET THE
MATERIALS FOR THE PCR
TESTING, EVERYBODY WAS
SCRAMBLING, YOU KNOW
WE HAD THE SEQUENCES
BUT TRYING TO GET
MATERIALS IT WAS TRYING
TO PLAY A GAME OF
SPEED CHESS WHILE
YOU'RE RUNNING AND
THE BOARD IS AHEAD OF
YOU
YOU AND
YOU AND WE STARTED OUT SMALL-SCALE AND
RAMPED FROM THERE. WE
STARTED WITH ABOUT 58
EMPLOYEES AND NOW
WE'RE UP TO 80
EMPLOYEES JUST TO KEEP
UP WITH DEMAND. WE'VE
HIRED A LOT OF YOUNG,
ENERGETIC SCIENTISTS
AND TECHNICIANS TO BE
ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH
THE DEMAND AND AS
YOU'VE SEEN IT KEEPS
SPREADING AND
GROWING
HOW MANY TESTS WERE
YOU DOING IN THOSE
EARLY DAYS VERSUS WHAT
YOU'RE DOING NOW?
MAYBE A COUPLE
HUNDRED A DAY,
HUNDRED, TWO
HUNDRED A DAY ON A
BUSY DAY YOU KNOW
BACK IN EARLY SUMMER
AND SO LIKE LAST NIGHT
I HAD MENTIONED TO
YOU WE HAD A
THOUSAND TESTS ON
DECK READY TO DO,
WHICH WE DID, AND WE
ACTUALLY ENDED UP
DOING 1300 AND THIS
MORNING WE JUST GOT
ANOTHER 500 IN SO BY
NOON IN THE LAST 24
HOURS WE WILL HAVE
DONE ABOUT 1800 PCR
TESTS
DO YOU SEE AN END TO
THESE 27 HOUR DAYS FOR
YOU?
I DO ACTUALLY, IF YOU
LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF
ALL CORONA VIRUSES,
CORONA
CORONA VIRUSES ARE SEASONAL AND THEY
TEND
TEND TO
TEND TO RUN A SIX TO NINE MONTH LIFE CYCLE AND WE KIND OF
SUPPRESSED THAT LIFE
CYCLE WITH THE
LOCKDOWNS AFTER
MARCH BY ABOUT THREE
MONTHS, AND USUALLY
IN THE FALL AND WINTER
CORONA VIRUSES WILL
FLARE BE IT THE COMMON
COLD TYPE OR THE
PANDEMIC WE DO HAVE
BUT IF YOU FOLLOW
THOSE NATURAL HISTORY
AND THE NATURAL
COURSE OF THIS TYPE OF
VIRUS, IT WILL, I THINK
RIGHT NOW IDAHO WE'RE
KIND OF AT OUR PEAK
PLATEAU WE MAY GO UP A
LITTLE BIT AFTER
CHRISTMAS BUT AFTER
THAT I REALLY SEE US
COMING DOWN JANUARY
INTO FEBRUARY AND BACK
TO BASICALLY AN
ENDEMIC LEVEL WHERE
WE SHOULD SEE, INSTEAD
OF 1000 OR TWO
THOUSAND POSITIVES A
DAY AROUND THE STATE,
WE SHOULD BE BACK
AROUND IN THE 100 OR
200S LIKE WE WERE BACK
IN MARCH
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO
TAKE AWAY FROM THIS, I
MEAN
MEAN THIS
MEAN THIS HAS OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS AFFECTED YOUR LIFE,
CONSIDERABLY BUT WHAT
ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE
AWAY FROM THIS WHEN
YOU LOOK BACK?
WHEN YOU CHOSE A
PATH IN LIFE, WHATEVER
YOU DO DO IT WELL, AND
BE GRATEFUL FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE
YOUR FELLOW HUMAN
BEINGS
SO IN SPITE OF ALL THOSE
HOURS, I JUST GO TO
SLEEP IN THOSE CAT NAPS
IN THE CHAIR AND GO,
'YOU KNOW, I'M GRATEFUL
I HELPED SOMEONE
TODAY'
DOCTOR COLE TOLD US HE
HAS A COLLEAGUE IN
HOUSTON...WHO HASN'T
BEEN HOME IN 272 DAYS
THEY ARE TESTING SO
MUCH IN TEXAS.
COLE DIAGNOSTICS TAKES
IN COVID SAMPLES FROM
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY
AND
AND THEY
AND THEY STILL DO THE REGULAR WORK THEY DID BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
SO THEY WORK IN
ROTATING SHIFTS TO GET
IT DONE.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR
DOCTOR COLE TO BE
ACCURATE AS WELL AS
QUICK...AND CAN TURN A
TEST AROUND IN ABOUT
12 HOURS...FROM SWAB
TO RESULT.
ONE OF THE REASONS
THEY CAN HANDLE SUCH
A WORKLOAD...HE SAYS...IS
THE $1.3 MILLION HE HAD
TO BORROW TO BUY NEW
MACHINES SO THEY CAN
KEEP UP.
DOCTOR COLE SAYS HE'S A
BIG BELIEVER IN
VITAMIN-D...FOR THE
IMMUNE SYSTEM TO
FIGHT OFF A COVID
INFECTION...POINTING TO
THE DEFICIENCY MOST OF
AMERICA HAS WHEN IT
COMES TO VITAMIN-D.
ESPECIALLY FOR US SO FAR
NORTH DUING THE
WINTER.
BUT HE ALSO VERY MUCH
STANDS BEHIND HAND
WASHING, KEEPING YOUR
DISTANCE...AND WEARING
MASKS WHEN YOU CAN'T.
BY THE WAY...AHPPY
BIRTHDAY,KELLI COLE