Andrea Van Beek, MSN'16 and DNP'19, had to rethink patient care in the past two weeks with the COVID-19 quarantine. Van Beek works in an Anticoagulation Clinic and the recent pandemic had her patients hesitant to come to the lab and clinic. Several of her patients called worried and tried to delay testing, or not show up at all. However, patients who take warfarin, a blood thinner used to treat or prevent blood clots in veins or arteries, need to have frequent lab tests, and delays can lead to bleeding or blood clots. So Van Beek had to come up with a solution.

Learning from her colleagues across the nation, Van Beek started drive thru INR testing. The patient gets a call ahead of time for an interview about their blood thinner, as well as an assessment for COVID symptoms. During the call, they give the patient instructions where to park for their testing. The patient calls when they pull into the reserved parking space, and she meets them at their car to test their blood, and give them instructions about how much medicine to take.

"I'm excited to do this for my patients and try to keep them healthy and well, both physically and mentally, through these challenging times," she said.