Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (Lab Week) is underway through Saturday, providing an opportunity to highlight the work done by scientific and technical clinical laboratory professionals nationwide and at . This group of dedicated professionals includes pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, cytotechnologists, histotechnologists, medical laboratory technicians, phlebotomists, and support staff.
Now in its 50th year, Lab Week is held annually during the last full week in April. It was established to increase public understanding and appreciation for the vital role laboratory professionals play in healthcare.
The efforts of these professionals often go unnoticed by the public, as well as by the very institutions that employ their services, even though lab test results inform about 70% of clinical decision-making, according to the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), and help clinicians to diagnose, monitor, and treat both common and complex conditions.
Laboratorians are used to being behind the scenes, said Sheila Villanueva, CLS, a lead medical laboratory scientist. She said it鈥檚 gratifying when their efforts are called out.
鈥淭he most rewarding part of my job comes from the feeling of deep fulfillment knowing that I am contributing to a mission to save lives and provide excellent patient care,鈥 Villanueva said. 鈥淚 will be here for the rest of my career.鈥 Villanueva has worked at the University of Utah Blood Bank for 30 years.
ARUP Blood Services is the sole provider of blood products to 91麻豆天美直播 (U of U Health) and averages 500 patient transfusions each month, which equates to approximately 3,000 blood products, and relies entirely on volunteer donations. About 140 employees work at the University of Utah Hospital and Huntsman Cancer Institute, donor centers in Salt Lake City and Sandy, and the Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (IRL) at ARUP, and travel daily to numerous mobile blood collection sites.
ARUP operates five clinical labs within the U of U Health system: the U Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Institute, South Jordan Health Center, Sugarhouse Health Center, and Farmington Health Center. Laboratory professionals are the unseen heroes of the hospital, said Anastasia Stone, MT(ASCP), a supervisor in specimen processing at the U Hospital. 鈥淲e are the scientists behind the providers, running the tests and providing patients with answers,鈥 Stone said.
鈥淲e take great care in everything we do to ensure patients receive the best possible care and timely, accurate answers,鈥 added Niki Romero, who also works in specimen processing inside the U lab. Romero added that her own health challenges helped her to understand how important quality test results are to patients and their providers. 鈥淜nowing that I鈥檓 helping gives me a sense of pride,鈥 Romero said.
The U labs perform more than two million tests annually and process several million more specimens for additional testing鈥攖esting that is performed most often at ARUP鈥檚 central facility in Research Park.
In addition, ARUP provides all inpatient phlebotomy services at the U Hospital and Huntsman and operates the outpatient lab services at the U Hospital. The phlebotomy team comprises nearly 86 employees and performs around 625,000 patient collections annually.
ARUP also handles anatomic pathology (AP) and hematopathology services for U of U Health with a team of more than 45 full-time faculty members who support the care of patients throughout the Mountain West region. These pathologists are supported by more than 170 laboratory and administrative personnel who process, prepare, and test specimens from nearly 50,000 surgical procedures every year, in addition to cytology and hematopathology specimens.
鈥淧athology plays an integral role in the diagnosis of surgical specimens, and our outstanding team approaches every case with precision, care, and a deep understanding of its impact on the patient,鈥 said Lindsey Fairbourn, HTL(ASCP), group manager for Pathology. 鈥淭he collaboration with departments across the university is essential to our success and one of the most rewarding aspects of my role. I鈥檓 incredibly proud of our team, whose shared commitment to patient care inspires me every day,鈥 Fairbourn added.
These groups continually update a state-of-the-art menu and offer a multitude of molecular techniques, such as next generation sequencing, pyrosequencing, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), for the detection of gene amplification and/or mutation.
The theme of this year鈥檚 Lab Week is 鈥淢ystery Machine of Diagnostics,鈥 and ARUP has produced a special episode of the LabMind podcast that highlights the theme. Every specimen represents a potential mystery, and laboratory professionals often play the role of detectives. Amanda Openshaw, MS, LCGC, a genetic counselor at ARUP, shares examples that illustrate the importance of good investigative work in the lab for accurate diagnoses. .
Bonnie Stray, bonnie.stray@aruplab.com