Billing Help
Directions to PVH
Email the CEO
Patients & Families
Giving to PVH
Online Greeting Cards
Phone Directory
Find a Physician
Services
The People You Know
The Care You Trust
Volunteer
Community Events
Net Nursery
Practical Advice
|
|
|
|
|
PVH Recognizes Lab Week
April 18, 2010
(Lincoln, ME--) PVH is recognizing its laboratory professionals during the week for their experience and dedication to the field. National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week runs from April 18 through the 24, and the observance is now in its 35th year.
The week is a celebration of laboratory professionals across 10 credentialing organizations. Since its development in the 1920s, laboratory testing has played an increasingly vital role in the delivery of quality care. There are approximately 300,000 practitioners of laboratory science in the United States.
 This year, the theme of the national observance is “Laboratory Professionals Get Results.” The need for fast, accurate, and cost effective testing is growing as America’s population gets older and more diverse. Almost 13-percent of our population is over 65 years old, and the over 85 year old group is increasing. There is a stronger emphasis on preventative medicine, and in recent years, the industry has seen an explosion of new technology. Laboratory testing is a significant portion of a patient’s medical record and vital to the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of many diseases and conditions.
Laboratory testing is much more widely used than it was 35 years ago. That’s partially due to the identification of many new diseases, such as AIDS, Lyme disease, and hepatitis C, as well as the resurgence of serious health threats such as tuberculosis. The increase in international travel has also had an effect on the spread of diseases throughout the world.
Each year, more than 10 billion laboratory tests are performed in the United States, and lab test results make up a significant part of people’s medical records. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the current U.S. lab workforce will be retiring in the next few years, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology experts estimate that 12,200 new lab professionals will be needed each year to meet the growing need around the globe; however, only about 4,000-6,000 graduates will join the lab field each year.
“We’re seeing a lot of new technology but also new ways to apply what we have now,” says Scott Warner, PVH Director of Laboratory Services. “It’s an exciting time to work in the laboratory. We’re using computers to compare lab results against what we expect to see for our patient population, and those systems let us know when something doesn’t look right. That gives us more time for unusual findings.” Warner says the laboratory recently converted to a paperless order tracking system that creates a smoother process. “We want to make it as easy as possible for our patients,” he says.
“Our laboratory staff members have been leaders in our recent customer service efforts,” says PVH CEO David A. Shannon. “Employees from every department in the hospital are involved in this effort we call our Service Excellence Initiative, and several of the lab employees have taken on mentoring roles to help others learn how to constantly improve the services we provide.”
The lab staff meets for at least 5 minutes each week for short, face-to-face interaction and to address any concerns. “We call them our Strive for Five meetings,” says Warner. Each department in the hospital holds the Strive for Five gatherings to make sure everyone in each department take a few moments to share information each day. Those important five minutes are part of the hospital’s Service Excellence Initiative. “The daily meetings give us a chance to focus our attention where it’s needed most and to discuss great, new ideas to improve service and efficiency.”
“PVH is committed to continual quality improvement, and the lab has been a leading department in making steady, measurable advancements,” says Senior Director of Quality Improvement Lisa French. One of those improvements is in wait times. In the second part of 2009, the PVH Laboratory cut average wait times for patients. Ninety-percent of the patients seen between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. from June to December 2009 waited fewer than 15 minutes to be seen.
“The PVH Laboratory Staff should be very proud of the improvements they’ve accomplished in recent years,” says Senior Director of Ancillary Services Joe Grant. “They have enhanced services, expanded hours, and made PVH the premiere outlet for laboratory testing in this region.”
|
|