AVR Save Mart Implements Drug Testing Program Using Avitar's ORALScreen(R) Drugometer(TM)
Save Mart Implements Drug Testing Program Using Avitar's ORALScreen(R) Drugometer(TM)
Major West Coast Grocery Retailer Benefits from Innovative On-Site Oral Drug Screen CANTON, Mass. - PRNewswire-FirstCall - April 27
CANTON, Mass., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Save Mart Supermarkets, a 120 store grocery chain in California, reports the employee drug testing program they've implemented using Avitar's (AMEX:AVR) ORALScreen Drugomter has helped them lower turnover and workers compensation incident rates and hire better new employees.
"SaveMart was repeatedly losing potential hires due to the lengthy urine- testing process we had used," said Jim Pucci, Save Mart's Director of Loss Prevention. "Urine testing took four days on average, while we now get results in 5-15 minutes with Avitar's product. Sample substitution and contamination were also an issue with urine testing. Oral testing virtually eliminates the possibility of adulteration since the test is performed during the job interview under direct observation."
"SaveMart's experience using Avitar's ORALscreen solution is further proof that oral-fluid drug screening is significantly more effective than traditional lab-based urine testing," said Peter Phildius, Chairman and CEO of Avitar. "Oral-based drug free workplace programs translate into measurable improvements to the bottom line, more competitive hiring practices, and improved worker safety."
Pucci continued, "In the time since we've switched from urine testing to oral-fluid testing, our workers compensation incident rate has decreased 17%. Our employee turnover rate is 20 points lower than the industry average, and we're not losing candidates anymore because we can hire them on-the-spot. We've come to rely on Avitar as a partner and the on-site oral fluid drug screening as a standard practice at SaveMart. It has helped us to overcome many of the issues that surround drug abuse in the workplace."
The ORALScreen Drugometer is the most accurate saliva-based drug test on the market and detects 99% of the drugs people abuse in the workplace, including: THC (Marijuana), Cocaine, Opiates (including Oxycotin (R) / Oxycodone), and Methamphetamines (including Ecstasy). By simply swabbing the inside of the cheek, the Drugometer delivers results in 5 - 15 minutes. Employers can learn to administer the Drugometer themselves on-site without having to worry about the gender-related issues associated with urine testing.
About Avitar
Avitar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets innovative and proprietary products. Their field includes the oral fluid diagnostic market, the disease and clinical testing market, and customized polyurethane applications used in the wound dressing industry. Avitar manufactures ORALscreen(R), the world's first non-invasive, rapid, onsite oral fluid test for drugs-of-abuse, as well as HYDRASORB(R), an absorbent topical dressing for moderate to heavy exudating wounds. Avitar is also developing diagnostic strategies for disease and clinical testing in the estimated $25 billion in-vitro diagnostics market. Conditions targeted include influenza, diabetes, and pregnancy. For more information, see Avitar's website at http://www.avitarinc.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement. This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including the development and marketing of new applications and other risks that are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In view of such risks and uncertainties, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking statements.
Company Contact: PR Contact: IR Contact:
Peter Cholakis Monica Pandolfi Bryan Murphy
Avitar Technologies, Inc. SHIFT Communications LaVoie Group
781-821-2440 x117 617-681-1235 781-596-0200 Ext. 105
pcholakis@avitarinc.com mpandolfi@shiftcomm.com bmurphy@lavoiegroup.com
Avitar
Web site: http://www.avitarinc.com/
