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Scratch and sniff test to screen for loss of sense of smell
Five Rivers Mental Health Clinic reported that its adoption of an innovative method for detecting loss of smell, called scentcard, is helping staff members to return to providing in-home services throughout a multi-county area in south central Minnesota. A growing body of scientific evidence â including a Mayo Clinic study â has found loss of smell to be a more reliable indicator of the COVID-19 virus than temperature checks.
Five Rivers has 27 staff members who provide psychotherapy, psychological assessments, behavioral therapy and skills work to 300 children and adults in their homes and at the clinic. The clinic has spent much of the past year seeing just 25 percent of its normal capacity of face-to-face clients due to COVID-19. That means having just one staff member in a home during a week. Under the state of Minnesotaâs Early Intensive Developmental Behavioral Intervention program, Five Rivers provides 10 â 20 hours a week of treatment per child. Reducing the number of staff who interact with families drastically impacted the clinicâs ability to function.