Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Operations
October 03, 2020 12:00 AM

St. Jude leverages workforce for research on COVID-19 immune response

Maria Castellucci
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    St. Judes Children's Hospital
    ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL

    Herman Robinson, a chef at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, receives his weekly COVID-19 test.

    St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital made a commitment early in the pandemic to test all its employees regularly for COVID-19 regardless of symptoms. The tactic has enabled the institution to be a leader in research on the immune response of the virus.

    Starting at the end of March, St. Jude instituted a standard for all employees to get tested for COVID-19 once a week. The program is one way the Memphis, Tenn.-based hospital is protecting employees and patients from transmission because it is detecting cases of the virus even among asymptomatic individuals, said Dr. Aditya Gaur, director of clinical research for the infectious diseases department.

    Getting tested regularly is an expectation for employment at St. Jude, which is unique to the industry with most healthcare systems typically only testing their employees when they suspect exposure to COVID-19 or they are displaying symptoms. 

    Regular testing of employees doesn't guarantee reduction in transmission of COVID-19, said Dr. Andrew Furman, executive director of the clinical excellence program at ECRI. A person can be exposed any day after they test negative and the institution still wouldn't know until the person is tested again. It's also incredibly costly and puts supply chain at risk when conducting so many tests on a routine basis, he added. ECRI recommends mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing to reduce transmission among healthcare workers. 

    The research team at St. Jude is leveraging the COVID-19 test data to understand immune responses for the coronavirus. Right now, it’s unclear when people generate immunity and how long it lasts. Answers to these questions are critical as drugmakers work to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to market quickly, said Paul Thomas, a member of St. Jude’s immunology department. 

    “There is a lot of pressure to understand who (the vaccine) is going to protect, how it’s going to protect them and how long it’s going to protect them," he said. 

    The COVID-19 test data from St. Jude is ideal for researching immune response because it involves samples of participants who test negative for the virus, which allows researchers to understand what their immune system is like before exposure to COVID and if it indicates how they responded to the virus. 

    “You can do that in any study, but you need to have a time machine, so we were trying to do that without the time machine,” said Josh Wolf, member of the infectious disease department. 

    The research is being funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. 
St. Jude’s work is part of a group of studies NIH is funding focused on testing healthcare workers for the virus and tests for antibodies. 

    Employees volunteered to participate in the study. Besides weekly testing, the participants agree to have blood samples collected about every three months or if they test positive while enrolled in the study. Blood samples are taken again of infected individuals about three to eight weeks after exposure. Wolf said St. Jude’s institutional review board, employee relations group, legal group and human resources department worked together to make sure recruitment followed regulatory guidelines. 

    Of St. Jude’s 4,500 employees, a little over 1,240 are now participating in the research. About 100 of the participants are Black, and St. Jude made a concerted effort to recruit them. Minority populations are historically underrepresented in clinical trials, so it was important for St. Jude to try to address that, Wolf said. 

    St. Jude set up focus groups and meetings with departments with high concentrations of Black employees to talk about the study and any concerns they have about participating. 

    Concerns that came up about the research were if blood samples will be used for research beyond the study and what would happen to samples after the study was complete. Wolf said employees were assured the blood samples are only used for the study purposes and weren’t available for commercial use. 

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    092823-BPTW-Millennials-Firsthand 6.jpg
    Giving younger employees the tools to thrive
    092823-BPTW-Healthiest-Medical Properties Trust 2.jpg
    ‘Healthiest’ winners take a flexible approach to wellness
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Finance Newsletter: Sign up to receive daily news and data that has a direct impact on the business and financing of healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing