To build an effective, tailored program for the 9,000-student district, Worksite Labs listened to school administrators and reviewed public health guidelines to understand the specific need. By collaborating with educators, we moved the conversation beyond COVID-19 mitigation strategies and explored ways to create the safest educational environment, starting with accessible and reliable testing for a massive population. Worksite Labs brought our decentralized testing model and gold-standard PCR testing experience directly to the schools to identify positive cases within hours and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread. In a week, Worksite Labs developed a comprehensive testing and contact tracing plan for school board approval and rollout, including a dedicated platform for parents to schedule test appointments.
Worksite Labs assigned lab technicians to the schools to collect samples, which underwent same-day local processing for timely results. Our flexible approach allowed each school to adapt testing to its needs, with three smaller schools sending students to larger schools with our on-site testing teams. Contact tracing was launched once a positive case was reported. Dedicated team members reached out to families of exposed students to provide comfort in sharing the news, offer resources on COVID-19 based on vaccination status and explain how to book testing. In the first weeks, daily check-ins with system administrators assessed operations and ever-changing pandemic requirements; those open communications contributed to school leaders’ increased confidence and comfort in our “test to stay” protocols for keeping schools safe.