How Clinical Research Sites are Responding to COVID-19

As part of the healthcare ecosystem, clinical research sites are pitching in to help serve their communities during the COVID-19 outbreak. We want to recognize these sites and start building a list of resources for other sites.

Please note, the information below is organized with the latest information listed at the top of the page.

July 21st:

Hassman Research Institute (HRI) .participated in and supported an event with addiction groups, Konquer Krew and Colin’s Wish. Both groups came together to host a cookout in the streets of Camden, NJ, to spread love and provide food, clothes, and toiletries to those that are struggling with addiction, mental illness, homelessness, or any other adversity.


July 16th:

Segal Trials latest segment in their #STAYCONNECTED video series is “The Impact of COVID-19 and Generations of Racial Injustice on the Black Community’s Mental Health.” Sandra Cumper, MS, Executive Director of NAMI Broward County will be interviewed by Segal Trials Marketing Specialist, Mammie Keith on Thursday, July 16th from 2:00pm-3:00pm. Register HERE and follow Segal Trials on their social media platforms to view the series.


June 25th:

CNS Healthcare is offering free depression assessments to their community and will help those that qualify for their depression study.


June 20th:

Woodland International Research Group is offering a Healthy at Home Series of online discussions, where they discuss various medical and/or research topics. The first in the Series is on #Alzheimer’s Disease, where they will discuss the disease as well as current available treatments. There will also be a Q&A session with partner site Richmond Behavioral Associates’ Dr. Adam Smith. Learn More: https://tinyurl.com/RBANY


June 18th:

Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research is putting the fun back in summer by offering a special raffle!


June 15th:

Hassman Research Institute (HRI) .brings awareness to clinical trials with their ‘Dr. Cohen’s Corner’ posts on their social media platforms and keeps it positive at their NJ offices.


June 5th:

iResearch Atlanta offers regular COVID-19 updates and advice on keeping safe and healthy during the pandemic. And this is info you can trust from Dr. Kimball Johnson, who specializes in Infectious Disease and was a trailblazer in the HIV medical community at the onset of the epidemic through its peak in Atlanta and was involved in the original AZT and DDI clinical trials.


May 20th:

Woodland International Research Group is continuing to work to bring awareness to mental health clinical research while seeing their patients and maintaining appropriate COVID precautions.


May 14th:

Pillar Clinical Research took lunch to the shelters and encampments in their community to make sure everyone was fed. The wonderful Pillar staff in Arkansas took all CDC-recommended safety precautions while taking food and assistance where it was needed most.


May 12th:

Hassman Research Institute (HRI) As many of us know, there are a deluge of patients living with psychiatric disorders whose primary source of mental health treatment has been shut down or significantly reduced in service hours during this pandemic. To address the community’s need for an alternative medical resource, Hassman Research Institute (HRI) has increased their time to evaluate and provide direct psychiatric attention to patients whose primary mental health care is provided outside of the site. Such care has also been extended to overall health, such as monitoring patients’ medical comorbidities and prescribing medications to manage high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, asthma, etc. In addition, HRI continues to conduct their inpatient and outpatient clinical trials and is doing so with the utmost care to their staff, site visitors, and study participants by engaging in a systemic approach to COVID19 risk mitigation.


May 11th:

Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research has established a platform where they have collected free COVID-19 resources, including a free Online Wellness Program that anyone can participate in. Dr. Shishuka Malhotra and her committed team at Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research are offering their clinical resources to their community.


May 8th:

Pillar Clinical Research is continuing to conduct high-quality research while maintaining safe social distancing and following all safety recommendations. Community involvement is a major focus for Pillar as they offer free telehealth mental wellness assessments for those who may be struggling during these uncertain times!


May 5th:

Segal Trials is producing a weekly video series, #StayConnected, designed to raise clinical trial awareness in our community and offer mental health guidance during the pandemic. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. The great folks at Segal Trials are here to help promote and educate people on the national and local resources available to everyone in the community. Stay safe and #stayconnected. Follow Segal Trials on their social media platforms to view the series.


April 30th:

Woodland International Research Group is continuing the research with their clients, maintaining a safe and healthy environment. You can’t tell in the picture, but the great Woodland staff is all smiles!


April 25th:

Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research continues to be a support system during the pandemic, offering free mental health assessments and memory screens.


April 24th:

CNS Summit hosted a webinar around the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak with several great speakers, including The STARR Coalition Executive Director, Luke Kramer.  You can check out the recording of that zoom call by clicking the link below.


April 22nd:

Segal Trials remains committed to meeting the needs of our clients and volunteers during this unprecedented time. As part of our continued efforts to reduce the burden of participation under current restrictions,  we are now providing virtual face to face prescreens with our clinicians. We are proud to support clinical trial enrollment by bringing pre-qualification visits directly to our volunteers virtually and to safely ensure the continuity of our trials.


April 21st:

iResearch Atlanta is hosting a COVID-19 & Mental Health: Virtual Meeting with NAMI Georgia on Thursday, April 30th. Join the iResearch Atlanta Medical Team and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Georgia for their second Virtual Meeting on Thursday, April 30 at 12:00PM. Dr. Kimball A. Johnson, M.D. and Dr. David C. Purselle, M.D. will lead an interactive discussion on important updates regarding COVID-19 and the mental health impacts. Questions? Email Rachel Barber at rachel.barber@iresearchatlanta.com.


April 20th:

Mental Health America is is seeing a sharp increase in the mental health screenings through their website. The STARR spoke with Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO at Mental Health America about the increase and higher severity levels that they are seeing through the screenings and how that will impact how we navigate through the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the implications beyond that.


April 20th:

Syneos Health is hosting a webinar to explore a staged approach to mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on clinical trials – from continuity strategies for today, to ways to prepare for recovery following the pandemic with a restart playbook.


April 17th:

iResearch Atlanta created a video to show patients what they can expect during their check-ups and research visits. Check it out below. And if you haven’t seen the iResearch TikTok, check that out HERE.


April 16th:

IQVIA has created COVID-19 Trial Matching, an online screener and trial matching tool for all U.S. COVID-19 trials. They’ve built it to help everyone (healthy, suspected, and confirmed C19 cases) find opportunities to participating in a COVID-19 research study. Check it out by following the link below.


April 15th:

Hassman Research Institute (HRI) In response to continuing COVID-19 developments, HRI has proactively implemented the safety precautions recommended by the CDC, WHO, FDA, and other government agencies. These include (but are not limited to): the administration of daily patient screening questionnaires regarding COVID19 symptoms to reduce risk, the utilization of staff and patient health checks and personal protections to heighten safety, and the increase and intensification of cleaning/disinfecting measures throughout the facilities to further safeguard the community. In addition, all those that screen-in for any inpatient studies are tested for COVID-19 prior to entering the inpatient unit.


April 14th:

Karuna Therapeutics is continuing to work with sites and sponsors to navigate through the COVID-19 outbreak. The STARR spoke with Steve Brannan, CMO of Karuna Therapeutics on what he is hearing on how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting clinical trials.


April 13th:

Syneos Health is working with sites and sponsors to navigate this global health crisis. Check out a quick call The STARR had with Alex Wise on her thoughts specific to the mental health trials that they are involved with.


April 7th:

iResearch Atlanta continues to respond to #COVID19 with creative ways to serve their patients safely. They recently purchased a retired ambulance and put her back to work! Izzy, the new iResearch Ambulance will allow the team to visit patients off-site for appointments if necessary in combination with video/phone visits. We remain committed to advancing research during this challenging time, while ensuring the safety of all patients and staff.


April 1st:

Results from April 1st Site Survey:

 


March 30th:

Woodland International Research Group is working hard to support both their community and their patients. Click the image below to listen to the conversation with Woodland site director, Ashley Poole, on what they are doing.

 

 

 

 


March 26th:

Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research is going the extra mile to keep their patients and staff safe while continuing the research. Click the image below to listen to the conversation with Dr. Shishuka Malhotra on the safety precautions being taken and her staff’s continued commitment to their patients.

 

 

 

 

 


Data Collected and analyzed by Medidata as of March 26, 2020:

 

 


March 25th:

Results from March 25th Site Survey:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Medical Research Group of Central Florida has transitioned their clinical research operations to telehealth and virtual visits with patients. Click the image below to listen to the conversation with site director Megan McMahon on this transition.


March 24th:

Hassman Research Institute (HRI) has offered their 21 primary care docs and 16 specialists, located in multiple sites across South Jersey, to provide health screenings and treatment. HRI has become a staple in the South Jersey healthcare ecosystem and is very active within their community and local advocacy organizations.

Segal Trials has offered to deploy their sites’ mobile medical units and staff EMTs for testing and treatment within their communities. Segal Trials has multiple South Florida locations and has been dedicated to the health and welfare of their communities for over 20 years.


March 20th:

Woodland International Research donated their extra no-touch thermometers to local mental health centers so they could screen folks. The great team at Woodland is using their resources to help local providers comply with the CDC guidelines.


mHealth Israel Linkedin Group: shared this graphic, created by BMJ Publishing Group.  It’s a great visual for quick assessment of patients for COVID-19.

#ResearchResponds

Help us continue to build this page by hashtagging your posts with #ResearchResponds
and tag The Starr Coalition on your posts.
Or, feel free to send your information to us at starrcert@thestarr.org.

The STARR Coalition is hosting an interactive discussion via Zoom for sites to share and discuss how sites are coming back up to speed as sponsors re-open studies with new/reduced organizational situations (staff furloughed or working from home), and how to prioritize new processes of multiple study start-ups with different sponsors and CRO’s .

Speakers:

Brian Craig , CEO, Pillar Clinical Research
Brian will talk about managing sponsor expectations with respect to enrollment (adjusting timelines, getting up to speed), as well as requesting the appropriate support from a contract/budget perspective.

 

Kate Templeton, MS, Clinical Operations Manager, Segal Trials
Kate is covering risk mitigation policies (managing flow of visits, PPE, sanitation, etc) and will also discuss how to ensure employee wellbeing.

 

Elan Cohen, Ph.D,   Principal Investigator, Hassman Research Institute
Elan will host the discussion on overall staffing topics, including bringing furloughed employees back for adjusted hours congruent to visit activity, as well as covering utilizing remote/virtual options when available or appropriate.


The STARR Coalition hosted a webinar on Wednesday, May 13th for sites to share and discuss some of the different creative things they are doing, what’s working and what isn’t, and brainstorming solutions to some common challenges.

Download the slide deck from the webinar below!

Speakers:
Jessica Anderson, CCRP, Clinical Research Site Manager, North Texas Clinical Trials : Back to Basics: Distilling site operations to the critical elements necessary to safely serve protocols and patients.

Shishuka Malhotra, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Neuro-Behaviorial Research : The Human Element: Rediscovering the positive impact and value of sites for the patients.

Zach Mitchell, Director of Business Operations, iResearch Atlanta : Community Outreach. Look at ways to connect with advocacy organizations, using mobile teams and solidifying research sites as a part of the local healthcare ecosystem.

Woody Woodaman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Synergy San Diego : Communicating with Partners: Exploring recommendations and guidelines to facilitate robust communication between sites, CRO’s, and sponsors.