Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, for your invitation to this very important meeting. I hope that each of you and your families are healthy and well. It is a privilege to be with you today on behalf of Dynacare to discuss the Canadian response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Dynacare, we believe that life is precious. Our mission is to support the health of Canadians with commitment and care. That is why we do what we do. Our 2,900 Dynacare employees deliver the highest level of clinical and scientific testing to provide the necessary information that supports the diagnosis, treatment and well-being of Canadians. Each and every day we provide testing and medical laboratory services to over 32,000 Canadians across the country, amounting to over 11 million tests annually. We operate 200 convenient and accessible specimen collection centres in Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. We operate seven state-of-the-art laboratories in four Canadian provinces. We report over 500 critical results requiring immediate action by physicians.
Our goal is to inspire confidence in Canadians when it comes to managing their health and well-being. To achieve this, we have elevated the patient experience at our specimen collection centres. We continuously innovate by introducing new and improved test methodologies such as genetic testing; liquid-based cytology; non-invasive prenatal testing; and the piloting of Pixel, a self-collection test methodology utilized in remote rural communities. We have introduced patient-friendly diagnostic testing reports and digital apps that help Canadians better manage their health journeys.
This unprecedented pandemic has highlighted that the work we do at Dynacare matters now more than ever. We are very proud to play a critically important role in supporting the provincial public health authorities of Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec in their efforts to control this pandemic. Since March 25, our talented scientific and laboratory professionals at Dynacare have conducted over 40,000 COVID-19 molecular tests across these provinces, including COVID-19 testing for members of vulnerable and priority populations, such as those in emergency shelter systems, residents of long-term care facilities, EMS first responders and health care workers.
Even throughout this pandemic, Dynacare has continued to operate its laboratories and accept patients at our collection sites for urgent non-COVID-19 testing. In addition to the provision of COVID-19 testing, our community laboratory infrastructure has helped to alleviate pressure on provincial public health systems and hospitals. In particular, our medical couriers have quickly and safely transported COVID-19 test specimens from screening and assessment centres to Dynacare, public health and hospital laboratories. On behalf of the provincial public health labs, we have delivered negative COVID-19 test results to over 25,000 patients. We have supported vulnerable populations by establishing designated Dynacare specimen collection sites for immunocompromised patients and for COVID-19 positive patients. We have engaged in non-COVID-19 sample collection at long-term care facilities.
Our employees have rallied behind Dynacare's response to this pandemic and, as such, we celebrate the many acts of compassion through our Dynacare health care heroes social media campaigns. Our people are the ones who have truly stepped up.
The COVID-19 testing system has generally been working well with strong collaboration among public health agencies, community laboratories and hospitals. But, as with any unprecedented and rapidly evolving environment, there are challenges and opportunities for improvement.
The technical nature of the nasopharyngeal collection process, along with the required swabs that are employed in the collection of a COVID-19 sample, have been rate-limiters in terms of testing and have increased the demand for PPE. At over 200 collections centres, Dynacare has over 850 phlebotomists who are not authorized to collect samples using the current collection devices.
By employing alternative specimen collection procedures used in other countries, our team can support provincial screening. To this end, Dynacare is embarking on a study with Sunnybrook Occupational Health to validate alternative sample collection methods using saliva and front-of-nose collected specimens. The results of this study are expected within a few weeks.
Second, shortages of testing reagents and collection kits were common early in this pandemic. Due to increased vendor production and the proactive response of our supply chain team, we appear to have sufficient supply for our current volume of testing. However, in order to support expanded testing needs, our intention is to increase testing capacity, both through new collection techniques and through supply chain preparedness. Global demand has made it very difficult to secure additional testing capacity and reagent supply on a timely basis. Vendor allocation practices drive more test capacity and reagent to jurisdictions that have been more severely impacted by the COVID-19 virus than Canada has.
It's important to everyone at Dynacare that at the end of every laboratory test we perform there is a person—a mom, a dad, a daughter, a friend. It is not uncommon for our dedicated teams of employees to go above and beyond the call of duty by helping to secure a replacement test requisition for a patient, by leading a drive-by convoy to acknowledge the efforts of front-line health care workers at hospitals, or by making extended efforts to contact a patient with a critical result.
We treasure the value that our dedicated employees bring to the health care system, and we go to great lengths to take care of them. Notwithstanding the significant drop in non-COVID-19 test volumes during this pandemic, we have not thus far implemented furloughs, layoffs or reductions in base pay, due to our long-term philosophy and government wage programs. We are very proud of this and believe that it positions us well for the future. As doctors' offices and clinics reopen, as elective surgeries start again, as insurers and employers resume regular activities, Dynacare will be in a position to meet the laboratory testing needs of our patients and clients and support our health systems across Canada.
Unquestionably, our workplace will be defined by a new normal, with new social distancing and PPE protocols that will protect our patients and our people. As the number of patients requiring service continues to increase, these new protocols will demand the need to adapt, and we will.
Across Canada, some provinces are slowly beginning to open back up in ways that we would not characterize as business as usual. In the absence of a vaccine and lack of scientific consensus on the potential for immunity to the COVID-19 virus, some employers are expressing concern that their workplaces could be prone to COVID-19 outbreaks. Employers across a number of sectors, including food and beverage production, natural resources, manufacturing and many more have expressed an interest in the provision of COVID-19 testing at their own cost. Dynacare's priority will always be supporting health systems in responding to the emergency presented by COVID-19. As the economy opens up, we see a need to work with industry to avoid workplace outbreaks as a means to limiting the community spread of COVID-19.
Key to restarting the Canadian economy is high-quality antibody testing, which can determine whether an individual has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Public health authorities, in conjunction with medical and scientific experts, are working to determine how COVID-19 antibody testing could be applied.
This past week, two COVID-19 antibody tests were approved by Health Canada. Dynacare is currently working with two additional vendors who will be seeking Health Canada approval for an antibody test. A community laboratory like Dynacare is very well positioned to support large-scale provincial COVID-19 antibody testing surveillance programs through its extensive specimen collection network of 200 centres, our well-equipped laboratory facilities and our extensive logistics network. We do this every day—efficiently, effectively and with compassion.
In public health emergencies, those in poor health or with underlying chronic conditions are often the most vulnerable.
For many, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of keeping Canadians healthy and decreasing the prevalence of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, lung disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
At Dynacare, we believe that life is precious, and we look forward to continuing to improve the health of Canadians by providing ongoing support to provincial health care systems and through health and well-being programs at Canadian workplaces both through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Thank you again for the opportunity to address this committee.
Take care and be well.