Department Outlines
SUPPORT SERVICES
Phlebotomy / Laboratory Assistants
There are several different teams of phlebotomists, each specializing in a specific area of service. Hospital Phlebotomists specialize in providing service to hospital patients throughout the day and night for emergency room, pre-admission, pre-surgical and in-patients. Nursing Home Phlebotomists at all locations are a team who face the elements of nature — snow, sleet, rain — at 4 a.m. or earlier and travel often 1 hour and more to reach their assigned facility and then return to the laboratory with specimens collected. Outpatient/Patient Service Center Phlebotomists receive patients who come to us for their laboratory needs and provide professional, friendly service. Phlebotomists are vital members and a key to our success in Customer Response since they are our front line employees who interact personally with our clients and patients throughout the day.
Client Service Couriers
Throughout the organization is a team of employees who enhance our network of communication between facilities and provide another front line duty with our clients daily. They, too, face the elements of nature as they drive from office to office in excess of 100 miles per day. They are responsible for delivering results and supplies and picking up specimens from clients for return to the laboratory for testing. They also maintain goodwill of clients and look for critical performance feedback.
Customer Service / Sales
Every employee within the organization is a customer service and/or sales representative though their performance of quality work and communication. However, within each organization there is a team of employees whose primary responsibility, each day, is to go out to our clients and prospective clients and present/deliver our service programs. These employees must wear their smiles all day and calmly listen to requests, complaints and demands, then bring those needs to the organization for continued improvement.
Office / Reception
At each location there is a friendly voice responding to the sound of each telephone ring. These employees take calls from patients, nurses, doctors, attorneys, sales reps, administrators, fellow employees and family members and, with each, must search out the right answer or person to receive the caller. They are our air traffic controllers and all day strive for perfect landings and take offs.
Data Entry
Each facility has a team of order entry/result entry specialists who spend the majority of their day with eyes fixed upon a terminal screen and keying in data that becomes the mainstream of internal and interlab communications. Any error made affects no less than 5-10 other departments in some way. Once a specimen or order reaches the laboratory these people control the fate in getting the results back to the client.
Computer Operators
Computer operators are assigned at each facility. They are responsible for daily maintenance of the computer system hardware including terminals and printers. They also perform daily tasks to maintain back up records of data and organization of files to assure a smooth operating system. The operators are your front line computer contacts and work with System and Service Specialists to solve problems encountered.
TECHNICAL SERVICES
Technical AM/PM
Processing and performance of all the testing on specimens received in the laboratories is done by a team of technical assistants and technologists. The technical assistants have been specially trained by the technologists in specimen preparation and processing for testing. They also develop basic skills in automated equipment preparation and operation. The technologists have received their Associates or Bachelors of Science Degree in a very specialized field of allied health care, Medical Technology. Technologists are highly trained in correlation of laboratory values with diagnosis of disease or disorders. They are the core to generating accurate information through the use of scientific procedures and the operation of analyzers with advanced technology.
Microbiology
Technical assistants and technologists also perform the procedures of a specialized field of laboratory medicine, microbiology. Microbiologists are trained to analyze specimens and identify micro-organisms and viruses causing infection and disease. They also search for and report the most effective antibiotic treatment.
Histology
Histology is another specialized field of Laboratory Medicine which is performed by technicians who train and study for this field under supervision of experienced technicians and pathologists. Their function is processing body tissues for microscopic diagnostic interpretation by the pathologist. The majority of their work is generated by hospitals and surgicenters but more and more they are processing specimens obtained in a physician's office.
Cytology
Cytotechnologists are highly trained specialists who perform the screening and diagnostic reporting of body fluid, secretion and tissue scraping slides specially stained for detection of cell abnormalities. The most common screen they preform is the PAP Smear. Their functions integrate closely with histology and pathology since their findings are often the first decision step prior to surgical procedure.
Pathology
Laboratory Medicine is directed by medical doctors who have specialized in anatomical and clinical pathology, Pathologists. In anatomical pathology they perform the gross and microscopic evaluation of body tissue and fluids to report the diagnosis to the attending physician and/or surgeon. In clinical pathology, they assist physicians in diagnosis through analysis and interpretation of laboratory test results. Our group of pathologists is available to provide consultation and education for any clinical situation you may encounter.
ADMINISTRATION
Laboratory Managers / Assistant Laboratory Managers
The leaders within each laboratory are dedicated to provide for the needs of their staff in performing their functions in an efficient, professional manner. They are responsible for all day to day operations required to deliver quality service to our clients. Communication through them is brought to the corporate managers and officers for a team effort in developing new procedures, policies and services to enhance the quality and growth of the company as a unit.
Purchasing / Accounts Payable
Purchasing and accounts payable are consolidated in a single unit in an effort to enhance cost containment measures. These individuals work through managers and others assigned ordering and inventory duties at each facility. Their responsibilities include coordinating purchases to maximize buying power through volume price negotiation and purchasing. They also maintain and control payables to monitor utilization and assure services are within established guidelines.
Billing / Accounts Receivable
This department performs the vital tasks associated with assuring that invoices are generated and payments received for all the services performed throughout all the facilities. The timeliness and accuracy of their duties assure the necessary cash flow for business to survive.
Human Resources / Financial / Administrative Assistants
Another area of service that is consolidated and maintained in one facility is payroll, employee records and benefits, and revenue and expense accounting. These employees coordinate data from all facilities and maintain data analysis and records for planning and development for all entities.
Computer System and Service Specialists
These specialists bear the crucial responsibility of maintaining system hardware and software to assure continuity of service and development of new services. They keep us going regardless of the time of day, weather, or distance. Through identification and communication of needs from both the users and the clients these specialists set out to research and implement system enhancements.