National Women's Hockey League Partners with Yale on COVID-19 Testing
December 21, 2020 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) News Release
The National Women's Hockey League is working with Yale to provide saliva-based COVID-19 testing for players and staff during the upcoming season and Isobel Cup Playoffs in Lake Placid.
The PCR viral RNA testing method - known as SalivaDirect™ - was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). It was granted an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after researchers performed clinical validation in collaboration with YSPH, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Yale Pathology Labs (YPL).
"YPL was the first to offer SalivaDirect™ to the public and the National Women's Hockey League is the first women's professional sports league to implement SalivaDirect™ testing," said Stephanie Weirsman, physician liaison for YPL.
"Yale Pathology's mission is dedicated to advancing clinical care and YPL's Outreach Program is committed to bringing these standards of excellence to local communities and beyond," says Angelique Levi, M.D., YPL Vice Chair of Outreach. "The NWHL's partnership with YPL is a natural fit as it supports YPL's core diversity values by promoting women's professional athletics, highlighting female leaders and role models, emphasizing health and wellness through innovative diagnostics on a national level, and by increasing testing capacity and access to the public."
Additionally, NWHL and YPL are working jointly on a quality improvement initiative that involves obtaining paired saliva and nasal samples for NWHL players and staff for dual testing purposes. This dual testing is beneficial both to the NWHL players and staff who receive two concurrent results, as well as to the clinical lab which can provide additional data for the COVID-19 diagnostic molecular testing program.
"The NWHL is proud to be working with Yale Pathology Labs," said NWHL Commissioner Tyler Tumminia. "Our top priority for this season in Lake Placid has been protecting the health and safety of the players and everyone involved, and testing has been a major focus for us. By partnering with YPL, the NWHL not only has the direction of pioneering doctors and scientists but also the support of an organization that believes in the power of women's sports."
• Discuss this story on the Premier Hockey Federation message board...
Premier Hockey Federation Stories from December 21, 2020
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
