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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Speare Memorial Hospital (603) 536-1120 | |
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April 20 , 2007 | |
SMH Celebrates National Laboratory Professionals Week
and the People Behind the Results | |
 | PLYMOUTH, N.H.— A small drop of blood. We have all given a blood sample at one time or another, and blood is used in 85 percent of all laboratory procedures to test and monitor the body’s major organ functions. The team of laboratory professionals at Speare Memorial Hospital has over 300 years of combined experience in translating that small drop of blood into results that help you monitor and address your ongoing health and wellness. They are the people behind the results being recognized during National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week beginning April 22. |
| “Seventy percent of all clinical decisions are based on lab results,” notes Bob Ryan, director of laboratory services at Speare Memorial Hospital. “Our medical technicians and technologists play a critical role in supporting the continuum of care at Speare Memorial Hospital, but as a ‘back of the house’ function tends to relatively unknown to the general public. Hence the importance of recognizing and celebrating their significant contributions supporting patient care during laboratory professional’s week.” | |
 | SMH’s 12-person laboratory staff is among the approximately 300,000 laboratory professionals nationwide. Of the more than 10 billion laboratory tests performed annually across the nation, 1,000 different kinds of lab tests are performed each year at Speare Memorial Hospital. “Over the last year we’ve brought in-house 30 tests we used to send out,” says Ryan. “We only send out 10 percent of our specimens due to the rarity of need or complexity.” |
| As part of the hospital’s recently completed renovation and expansion project, the laboratory was doubled in size, a lab specific waiting room was added and it features two phlebotomy stations for patient drawings. The lab is divided into five sections—microbiology, urinalysis, chemistry, hematology and blood bank—and is appointed with state-of-the-art instrumentation and technology that is updated as needed to stay current with evolving processes and new technologies. | |
| The laboratory profession has been around since the 1920’s and National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week has been celebrated for 32 years throughout the United States and Canada. The recognition of these medical professionals has become more important as there are staffing shortages in clinical laboratories nationally, and the U.S. Department of Labor predicts the supply of new medical technologists will fall short of necessary demand by as much of 8,000 professionals per year. The laboratory staff at Speare Memorial Hospital are all medical laboratory technicians with an associate degree in science or medical technologists with a bachelor’s of science. | |
| Speare Memorial Hospital is a 24-hour, acute care, non-profit community hospital and health care provider serving Plymouth, and the communities of central New Hampshire, for more than a century. | |
| Michele Barney Hutchins Director of Community Relations Speare Memorial Hospital (603) 238-6468 mhutchins@spearehospital.com | |