Celebrating Laboratorians Who Get Results
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April 23–29, 2023 is Medical Laboratory Professionals Week—an annual celebration to highlight and show appreciation for laboratory professionals. Lab Week is sponsored by the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) and coordinated by 17 national clinical laboratory organizations. The theme of Lab Week this year is “The Future is Lab.”
Clinical laboratorians play a critical role in patient care, performing foundational work to support screening, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease. To celebrate Lab Week, we are placing a few of the laboratories at the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Centers under the microscope to learn how they get results.
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit (BCU) Lab is a biological safety level 3 (BSL-3) lab located in the BCU Clinical Unit. The BCU Lab is staffed by a dynamic group of medical technologists from the JHH Core Lab, each self-selecting to support the BCU mission and provide clinical testing for patients infected with high consequence pathogens. This dedicated group keeps the BCU Lab ready at all times, by keeping the instruments active and their own training up to date. The BCU lab staff performs chemistry, blood gas, hematology, coagulation, and blood typing testing, all within two biosafety cabinets and while in full BSL-3 PPE.
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital
The Providence medical laboratory scientists operate a BLS-3 within the Special Pathogens Unit (SPU), which is part of the Region 10 Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center in Spokane, Washington. These caregivers bring their extensive knowledge and experience to safely do tests on a variety of specimens to determine if someone has a high consequence infectious pathogen. This advanced lab capability helps enhance our nation’s readiness for special pathogen events.
Emory University Hospital/Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The Emory Serious Communicable Disease Unit clinical laboratory provides diagnostic testing for the clinical care of patients who present with suspected or known special pathogens. The laboratory was developed in 2002 by Crystal Evans and Dr. Bruce Ribner, and is CAP-accredited. It is staffed by volunteer medical laboratory scientists 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, under the direction of medical directors Drs. Colleen Kraft, Eric Fitts, Charlie Hill, and Eileen Burd. The laboratory is a fully functional BSL-3 laboratory with risk based enhancements dedicated to performing laboratory testing required for isolated patients.
NYC Health + Hospitals | Bellevue
The Bellevue Special Pathogens Unit (SPU) lab is staffed by members of the hospital’s lab team who are trained in special pathogens processes. These laboratorians ensure the lab is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year—and once their job is done in the SPU, these superstars return to the main lab to finish their shifts. The lab team members train on a version of the same skills and tasks that are done in a patient room, from cleaning high-touch surfaces to category A waste removal. The special pathogens unit team relies on great chemistry with lab partners to provide the best possible care for patients.
University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) / Nebraska Medicine
The Nebraska Public Health Lab (NPHL) is a collaboration between UNMC, Nebraska Medicine, and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. In 2019, the biocontainment unit laboratory was transferred to Nebraska Medicine. The laboratory team includes 11 members that are trained to perform clinical laboratory testing on patients with special pathogens. The members of this team are volunteers from different areas of the clinical laboratory. The laboratory team is an amazing group of people that are not only proud to be part of the biocontainment unit team, but are incredibly engaged in all of the training activities.
Learn more about the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Centers.