| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, |
|
|
the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the |
|
|
Amarillo Pathology Group, LLP, and APG's Physicians Preferred |
|
|
Laboratory, Ltd., came together to address the urgent community |
|
|
need for accurate and timely COVID-19 testing; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The demand for diagnostic testing was especially |
|
|
acute in March 2020 and the months that followed, as communities |
|
|
worked to track and assess the spread of the novel coronavirus; at |
|
|
that time, few public health laboratories were equipped to process |
|
|
the number of tests that were being requested, which led to the |
|
|
formation of a unique partnership between the Texas A&M Veterinary |
|
|
Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) and St. Joseph Health; |
|
|
TVMDL, which routinely tests herds and flocks of animals for a |
|
|
variety of diseases, lent its high-throughput equipment and |
|
|
laboratory space to St. Joseph Health staff, allowing them to begin |
|
|
performing a higher volume of PCR tests at its College Station |
|
|
laboratory in late April 2020; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Knowing that the need for testing was also critical |
|
|
in the Texas Panhandle, TVMDL went on to partner with the Amarillo |
|
|
Pathology Group's Physicians Preferred Laboratory (APG-PPL) to |
|
|
provide this same service at its Amarillo laboratory; through this |
|
|
partnership, APG-PPL was able to perform up to 600 COVID-19 tests |
|
|
each day and to deliver results to patients from 24-48 hours after |
|
|
specimens were collected; the laboratory proved to be a crucial |
|
|
asset to the region at this challenging time, and by fulfilling the |
|
|
need for testing during periods of high community spread, it helped |
|
|
local governments and businesses to make informed policy decisions; |
|
|
in February 2021, TVMDL and APG-PPL were recognized with Texas A&M |
|
|
AgriLife's Partnership Award; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A number of individuals were instrumental in |
|
|
establishing the initial partnership between TVMDL and APG-PPL, |
|
|
including TVMDL's director Dr. Bruce Akey and associate agency |
|
|
director Dr. Amy Swinford and APG-PPL's medical director |
|
|
Dr. Robert Todd II; also vital to this undertaking were APG-PPL |
|
|
administrators who helped secure federal approval for the clinic, |
|
|
Charlyn Snow and Heidi Dorman, as well as the Clinical Laboratory |
|
|
Improvements Amendment (CLIA) medical director, Dr. Andrew Hoot; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Other TVMDL professionals, Dr. Kiril Dimitrov, |
|
|
Dr. Pam Ferro, Dr. Megan Schroeder, and Dr. Owais Khan, handled |
|
|
such responsibilities as ensuring the accuracy of test results and |
|
|
securing testing supplies; TVMDL employees Jonatan Sanchez-Gama |
|
|
and Nicholas Monday trained and assisted APG-PPL staff on the use of |
|
|
the equipment, while APG-PPL employees Cliff George, Chris Kelly, |
|
|
Katera Padilla, and Ashley Tarrant were tasked with delivering |
|
|
human samples to the lab and performing tests; finally, a great deal |
|
|
of appreciation is owed to Texas A&M AgriLife vice chancellors |
|
|
Dr. Patrick J. Stover and Joe Cox and to Sandra Talton, legislative |
|
|
director in the office of State Representative Four Price, for |
|
|
their tremendous contributions; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The success of this collaboration is a credit to the |
|
|
expertise, ingenuity, and shared commitment to service |
|
|
demonstrated by all those involved in the partnership, and they are |
|
|
indeed deserving of heartfelt praise for their tireless efforts; |
|
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commend the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical |
|
|
Diagnostic Laboratory, the Amarillo Pathology Group, LLP, and APG's |
|
|
Physicians Preferred Laboratory, Ltd., for their work to ensure |
|
|
timely, accurate COVID-19 testing to the Texas Panhandle at the |
|
|
height of the pandemic and extend to their personnel sincere best |
|
|
wishes for the future; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
|
|
for the organizations as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
House of Representatives. |
| |
|
|
Price |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1393 was adopted by the House on May |
|
|
26, 2021, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |