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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, |
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| 6 | 7 | | the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the |
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| 7 | 8 | | Amarillo Pathology Group, LLP, and APG's Physicians Preferred |
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| 8 | 9 | | Laboratory, Ltd., came together to address the urgent community |
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| 9 | 10 | | need for accurate and timely COVID-19 testing; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, The demand for diagnostic testing was especially |
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| 11 | 12 | | acute in March 2020 and the months that followed, as communities |
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| 12 | 13 | | worked to track and assess the spread of the novel coronavirus; at |
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| 13 | 14 | | that time, few public health laboratories were equipped to process |
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| 14 | 15 | | the number of tests that were being requested, which led to the |
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| 15 | 16 | | formation of a unique partnership between the Texas A&M Veterinary |
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| 16 | 17 | | Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) and St. Joseph Health; |
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| 17 | 18 | | TVMDL, which routinely tests herds and flocks of animals for a |
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| 18 | 19 | | variety of diseases, lent its high-throughput equipment and |
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| 19 | 20 | | laboratory space to St. Joseph Health staff, allowing them to begin |
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| 20 | 21 | | performing a higher volume of PCR tests at its College Station |
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| 21 | 22 | | laboratory in late April 2020; and |
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| 22 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Knowing that the need for testing was also critical |
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| 23 | 24 | | in the Texas Panhandle, TVMDL went on to partner with the Amarillo |
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| 24 | 25 | | Pathology Group's Physicians Preferred Laboratory (APG-PPL) to |
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| 25 | 26 | | provide this same service at its Amarillo laboratory; through this |
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| 26 | 27 | | partnership, APG-PPL was able to perform up to 600 COVID-19 tests |
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| 27 | 28 | | each day and to deliver results to patients from 24-48 hours after |
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| 28 | 29 | | specimens were collected; the laboratory proved to be a crucial |
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| 29 | 30 | | asset to the region at this challenging time, and by fulfilling the |
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| 30 | 31 | | need for testing during periods of high community spread, it helped |
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| 31 | 32 | | local governments and businesses to make informed policy decisions; |
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| 32 | 33 | | in February 2021, TVMDL and APG-PPL were recognized with Texas A&M |
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| 33 | 34 | | AgriLife's Partnership Award; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, A number of individuals were instrumental in |
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| 35 | 36 | | establishing the initial partnership between TVMDL and APG-PPL, |
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| 36 | 37 | | including TVMDL's director Dr. Bruce Akey and associate agency |
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| 37 | 38 | | director Dr. Amy Swinford and APG-PPL's medical director |
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| 38 | 39 | | Dr. Robert Todd II; also vital to this undertaking were APG-PPL |
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| 39 | 40 | | administrators who helped secure federal approval for the clinic, |
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| 40 | 41 | | Charlyn Snow and Heidi Dorman, as well as the Clinical Laboratory |
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| 41 | 42 | | Improvements Amendment (CLIA) medical director, Dr. Andrew Hoot; |
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| 42 | 43 | | and |
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| 43 | 44 | | WHEREAS, Other TVMDL professionals, Dr. Kiril Dimitrov, |
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| 44 | 45 | | Dr. Pam Ferro, Dr. Megan Schroeder, and Dr. Owais Khan, handled |
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| 45 | 46 | | such responsibilities as ensuring the accuracy of test results and |
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| 46 | 47 | | securing testing supplies; TVMDL employees Jonatan Sanchez-Gama |
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| 47 | 48 | | and Nicholas Monday trained and assisted APG-PPL staff on the use of |
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| 48 | 49 | | the equipment, while APG-PPL employees Cliff George, Chris Kelly, |
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| 49 | 50 | | Katera Padilla, and Ashley Tarrant were tasked with delivering |
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| 50 | 51 | | human samples to the lab and performing tests; finally, a great deal |
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| 51 | 52 | | of appreciation is owed to Texas A&M AgriLife vice chancellors |
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| 52 | 53 | | Dr. Patrick J. Stover and Joe Cox and to Sandra Talton, legislative |
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| 53 | 54 | | director in the office of State Representative Four Price, for |
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| 54 | 55 | | their tremendous contributions; and |
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| 55 | 56 | | WHEREAS, The success of this collaboration is a credit to the |
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| 56 | 57 | | expertise, ingenuity, and shared commitment to service |
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| 57 | 58 | | demonstrated by all those involved in the partnership, and they are |
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| 58 | 59 | | indeed deserving of heartfelt praise for their tireless efforts; |
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| 59 | 60 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 60 | 61 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 61 | 62 | | Legislature hereby commend the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical |
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| 62 | 63 | | Diagnostic Laboratory, the Amarillo Pathology Group, LLP, and APG's |
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| 63 | 64 | | Physicians Preferred Laboratory, Ltd., for their work to ensure |
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| 64 | 65 | | timely, accurate COVID-19 testing to the Texas Panhandle at the |
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| 65 | 66 | | height of the pandemic and extend to their personnel sincere best |
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| 66 | 67 | | wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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| 67 | 68 | | RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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| 68 | 69 | | for the organizations as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 69 | 70 | | House of Representatives. |
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