Bryan Whitfield Hospital’s laboratory staying busy

Two unrelated events make these days busy ones for Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital’s Laboratory Department.

The Lab is celebrating Lab Week April 19-25, and will follow with the installment of two new hematology analyzers in May.

“Almost everyone has had a medical test, yet most people are unaware that trained professionals perform the tests and often play a major role in saving lives,” said BWWMH’s Lab Director Debbie Green.

The primary role of the laboratory professional is to provide accurate results to the physician or healthcare provider in a timely manner, something Green’s department prides itself in doing.

“The BWWMH Lab performs approximately 425,000 tests in-house per year,” she noted. “We have a rapidly growing outpatient business that makes up about 60 percent of the annual testing, and comes from the Cancer Care Center, home health agencies, hospices, physicians’ offices and drug screen testing and collections.”

The Lab staff includes bachelor’s degreed Medical Technologists, nationally certified Medical Lab Technicians and Phlebotomists who are trained on-the-job or have completed a certified program.

“For me the best part of working in the Lab is the employees,” Green added. “They are the heartbeat of the department. I appreciate the skill and dedication of my staff. They work well together and take pride in a job well done.”

Bryan Whitfield’s Lab employs 14 individuals. “Since I started working at BWWMH, the Lab has grown from a staff of five to 14,” Green said. “We have been blessed with administrators and hospital board members who have provided the Lab with the latest equipment – our new analyzers are an example – and the tools to meet the needs of our patients.”