WSU lab transitions focus from COVID to rural hospital assistance

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — In 2020, Wichita State University created a high-complexity clinical lab for COVID-19 testing on a large scale.

Sarah Nickel, Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory director, says they always knew they wanted to transition out of just COVID-19 testing and into areas with gaps. She says rural hospitals in Kansas reported having the most trouble with clinical microbiology turnaround time and staffing.

“They’re having to really struggle to find those employees. So we’re kind of taking that model, creating a clinical laboratory where we can teach those people. We can also offer services directly to those hospitals, where we help support where they’re lacking in those skills,” Nickel said.

The lab will offer services directly to small hospitals and build a team to go into the rural communities.

“The intention is to try to meet the needs they can’t meet because they have a lot of other things on their plate, and we can focus our energy and our student’s energy into very specific avenues,” Nickel said.

Nickel says microbiology labs used to be all over, but they’re expensive, and the skill set to work in microbiology is specific.

“And by trying to solve more community problems, maybe we would be able to generate something that could be sustainable over time and really meet the mission of the university, trying to increase applied learning and trying to partner out in the community with industry partners,” Nickel added.