Coronavirus: Premier Health CEO says Dayton region receiving ‘inequitable distribution’ of testing reagents

DAYTON — In a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, Premier Health’s President and CEO said the Dayton region is not receiving fair treatment from the state when it comes to distribution of reagents used for coronavirus tests.

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“I am writing regarding escalating issues due to the inequitable distribution of reagents to hospital labs in our region,” Mary Boosalis said in the letter. " We do not believe the patients in Region 3 should be disadvantaged and denied expedited testing when it exists elsewhere in Ohio."

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Boosalis said the region is currently only able to perform 147 tests a day at its in-house lab, CompuNet, Kettering Medical Center and Dayton Children’s Hospital.

“As the state moves to begin elective surgeries and procedures, we anticipate needing reagent supplies to perform 1,000 tests per day in our region in order to keep patients and staff safe,” she wrote in the letter, which was also sent to Dr. Amy Acton and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

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According to Boosalis, other regions in the state have been allotted reagent amounts enabling the ability to perform over 1,000 tests per day for a single health system.

The Premier Health CEO asked the state for more testing reagent be made available locally.

“Transporting the tests further distances, due to the lack of reagent, will only exacerbate the time to receive test results and will increase costs,” Boosalis wrote. " Most importantly, patient care is being impacted -- we can complete these tests in Dayton with a rapid four-hour turnaround time mitigating the need to delay care. This will remain a crucial issue for some time when elective surgeries and procedures are reintroduced."

The letter obtained by News Center 7 was dated April 18.

DeWine announced Wednesday that hospitals and outpatient surgery centers could begin reaching out to patients who had surgeries postponed by the state’s earlier order to delay elective surgeries.

“Resuming surgeries and procedures I’ve described will take clinical judgment and we will rely on our healthcare providers to make responsible decisions as we move forward,” DeWine said. “We ask doctors to review any of the postponed procedures or surgeries with the patient in light of their current health situation and quality life and make a joint decision about whether to proceed.”

Boosalis said in speaking with the region’s vendors that she has been told that the “inventories are being managed by the Department of Defense, through the Ohio Department of Health, and that they cannot sell us supplies, such as reagent because they are being sent to specific health systems in Ohio.”

Boosalis acknowledged the states difficult task with decisions during the pandemic.

“We are respectfully asking you to help us provide a safe environment, the quick turnaround of test results, and an ample and equitably distributed supply of reagent to serve our region effectively,” the letter read. “At Premier Health, we face challenges, similar to other large tertiary hospitals in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. As you may know, Miami Valley Hospital is over 900 beds and is the 18th largest hospital in the nation and 3rd largest in Ohio.”

News Center 7 has reached out to Premier Health and DeWine’s office for additional comment on this story.

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