Employers struggling to manage COVID-related risk in the workplace have a new streamlined process that utilizes rapid response COVID test kits. The COVID tests can be self-administered by most employees without the need for medical personnel and are reported to be more accurate than the standard anterior nasal swab tests. Lab-based results are usually available within 48 hours, allowing employers to make quick decisions with a higher level of certainty.
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Ranked nationally in the background screening and drug testing industry, Employing Screening Services (ESS), has incorporated COVID-19 testing into the same process companies use for screening new employees. “Our goal was to find a practical approach to help clients manage their risk whenever an employee gets sick or is exposed to the virus. So, the ability for employees to safely collect their own test samples without needing assistance from a health care professional is very attractive,” says Sheila Benson, Founder, and CEO at ESS.
ESS offers four types of COVID tests, including the self-collected salvia tests provided by Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL). The COVID test kits are ordered, processed, and reported through ESS’s secure cloud-based platform – the same system used daily by employers for their background screening needs.
“Originally, we thought only highly vulnerable businesses would use the test to determine if potentially infected employees can remain or return to the workplace. However, we’re seeing a wide range of clients using the test in multiple scenarios. For example, two different energy companies located in the southeast and Midwest are using ESS to test over 3,000 employees and contractors in their nuclear plants. “It’s all about finding the right solution for each client,” adds Benson.
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