Laboratory Services

The SOMC Clinical Laboratory's mission is to provide high-quality, precise and accurate testing in a timely manner. The laboratory provides testing on tissue specimens and biological fluids. This state-of-the-art laboratory provides the very latest cutting edge equipment and highly trained personnel to meet its mission.

All of our analyzer systems are interfaced with our laboratory computer systems and barcoding is used for patient safety. Test results are automatically transferred to the patient's electronic laboratory record. Test results are verified by the technician or technologist and immediately printed on the nursing unit where the patient is located.

Our Laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists, the Joint Commission, and CLIA-88 Certification.

Chemistry

The Chemistry Laboratory provides testing of metabolites and enzymes. These analytes help provide diagnosis in many diseases or conditions such as heart attacks, diabetes, kidney diseases, and others.

Hematology

The Hematology Laboratory processes whole blood specimens for cell counting and morphology evaluation. Radio frequency, laser studies and impedance technology identify the white and red blood cells and platelets. The identification of these cells helps the physicians in their diagnosis and treatment.

Coagulation studies, medication monitoring, and urinalysis are also performed in this area of the laboratory.

Blood Bank

Blood Bank stores and processes blood for patients needing transfusions. The technician/technologist performs a crossmatch to make sure that the blood the patient receives is compatible, i.e., contains no dangerous proteins that could cause a reaction.

In addition, antibody evaluations to resolve complex blood compatibility problems are performed. Prenatal evaluations and serologic testing are also performed by the Blood Bank technicians.

Therapeutic Apheresis

SOMC Lab offers Outpatient Therapeutic Apheresis. This is a procedure in which blood is taken from the patients body and centrifuged in a sterile machine. The machine separates the blood and cleans out the unwanted parts such as "bad plasma" or too many white blood cells. The clean blood is put back into the body, similar to dialysis. Therpeutic Apheresis can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions including sickle cell disease, Myasthenia Gravis and Guillian Barre. Contact SOMC Lab or your physician for further information about the treatment.

Anatomic Pathology and Cytology

All tissue specimens sent to the Laboratory have microscopic studies. The tissues are put through a series of chemicals to prepare them for examination by the pathologist. The pathologist examines the stained tissue on a slide and renders a diagnosis. The report is then sent to the physician.

The Cytology Laboratory processes body fluids and pap smears. If the body fluid or pap smear contains abnormal cell types, they can be seen with the aid of a microscope once the cells are stained. The cytotechnologist and pathologist examine the slides and send the reports to the ordering physician.

Microbiology

Patient specimens from all body areas are sent to the Microbiology Laboratory to determine which bacterium, virus, fungus or parasite is causing an infectious disease. Comprehensive testing methods are performed by experienced medical technologists using state of the art instrumentation. In many cases, bacteria from the specimens are grown on specialized media and identified by rapid biological or serological testing. Disease-producing bacteria are tested against an array of antibiotics to determine those that would best treat the infection.

Many other studies related to infectious diseases are performed in the Microbiology Laboratory, including complete parasite identification, amplified DNA probes, rapid enzyme immunoassays, and fluorescent microscopy.