The covid-19 pandemic has highly impacted our everyday lives. No one expected this worldwide crisis to last so long, but events cannot be foreseen. The virus is still among us, continuing to claim several lives from all around the globe. One of the most visible effects of the pandemic is the change in social interaction, which has affected the lives of millions of people.

Thousands of people have passed away due to the pandemic - studies show that there are about 978,000 lost lives in the U.S. alone. Homelessness is another issue brought into the discussion here since the spread of the pandemic has increased the percentage of the homeless population.

Northshore Clinical Labs in Chicago, Illinois, has been making considerable efforts to provide support during these challenging times. Since the pandemic's start, the high-performing lab has constantly been working to process thousands of Covid-19 tests and deliver results effectively and efficiently. Because time is crucial in preventing the disease, Northshore Clinical Labs has expanded their services, helping the citizens of Illinois not only with Covid-19 tests but also with on-site support, donations and charitable fundraising, homeless programs, and other significant contributions. Community-oriented services have become one of the lab's main priorities - fruitful partnerships with numerous organizations (nursing homes, summer camps, schools, churches, etc.) and businesses have been formed to ensure the community's well-being.

This article explores the various ways Northshore Clinical Labs has helped combat the pandemic:

Testing

Testing remains one of the most effective ways to avoid spreading the virus. Once you know you're sick, you won't go outside and interact with other people because your civic spirit doesn't allow you to do so. If there's something everyone should learn from this pandemic is responsibility. That's why testing was and continues to be one of the most powerful weapons against the virus.

Covid variants have claimed many lives, including Omicron. That's why Northshore Clinical Labs continues to serve tests. One of their main priorities is to keep people safe, so they're constantly working to deliver high-quality results in the shortest possible time. They also decided to partner with different organizations, such as nursing homes, public school districts, daycares, and so on, to ensure a smooth testing process. They also expanded to locations where testing was necessary to ensure everyone had access to this technology. On-site testing in high-crowded areas proves to be a viable solution in the fight against the virus.

But even these laboratories' employees are humans and get sick sometimes. Many of the Northshore Labs' workers have experienced the effects of Covid-19, being forced to remain home (in isolation). In some cases, members of their families got sick and had to take care of them. No matter the circumstances, the lab has experienced a shortage of labor, which caused tests to be backed up and the processing time to take longer. These experiences are understandable - it's not like the virus chooses whom to sicken. Fortunately, Northshore Clinical Labs has found solutions so that the infection among employees should no longer be a problem.

How did they manage to solve this? By hiring more lab workers and forming partnerships with different companies. This way, they encourage effective and efficient testing, which is nothing but imperative in these troubling times.

But that's not all. Northshore has also invested in high-quality equipment to avoid slow testing. Therefore, Northshore Clinical Labs focused on buying modern technology to speed up test delivery to the highest standards, apart from almost doubling their staff. They're committed to easing Illinois's community members' lives, and that's why they chose to invest in top-notch testing supplies.

Therefore, Northshore's responses to the pandemic are hiring more lab employees, investing in high-quality technology, and forming partnerships with community organizations and businesses.

Nursing Homes

It's not surprising that older people are more vulnerable to the virus - their immune system no longer functions at full capacity, which makes infection with Covid-19 more likely to happen to them. According to statistics, there's a mortality rate of approximately 75.5% among people above 65 in the U.S. The numbers are alarming, so what is to be done? They need support and special care in some cases, but what if they have no place to stay? In this case, nursing homes prove to be of great help. They offer shelter for the most vulnerable to the virus population who can't tend to themselves.

Northshore Clinical Labs has made significant efforts to support nursing homes, assuring that seniors are at a lower risk of getting sick. In this regard, they provided these facilities with testing supplies and sent an experienced team to test the ones in need. Westminster Place, Greek

American Rehabilitation, and The Springs of Monarch Landing are just a few locations they helped fight against the pandemic.

Homeless Programs

As we already mentioned, the number of unsheltered people has risen significantly during the last few years, and the pandemic only encouraged this fact. Since the virus was spreading so fast, so many people have been left without shelter, finding refuge on the street, where the risk of getting various diseases was much higher. One thing is for sure: they need help, and Northshore Clinical Labs has done their best to support them. They make incessant efforts to ease homeless people's lives - the labs engaged in sponsorship, fundraising, and other supportive services. For example, they represent the main sponsor for the ShoweUp Program in Chicago, a non-profit organization preoccupied with providing hygiene resources to the homeless population.

Charter Schools

Since the rise of the pandemic, students have no longer access to a land-based education environment. And even if they physically return to school, things are no longer the same. Safety should be on the top of any school's priorities list. Northshore Clinical Labs has offered outstanding support services to help children return to school as soon as possible and assure safety standards in educational institutions, contributing to the students' constant testing.

They've also provided about 100 summer camps with testing supplies to ensure children make the most of their recreational time.