New Microbiology Lab at AdventHealth Porter to Serve the Rocky Mountain Region
By Chloe Dean
On January 19, AdventHealth Porter leadership, team members and laboratory vendors gathered for a celebratory ribbon cutting for the new microbiology lab that will serve the entire Rocky Mountain Region.
The microbiology lab cultures, examines and identifies microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, yeasts and viruses. The lab has a crucial role in effective infection prevention and control as they help provide physicians and care teams with critical patient culture results, which, in turn, drive patient care plans.
Effective January 28, patient blood, urine, tissue and other culture samples will be sent to AdventHealth Porter via courier service for testing and results. While the lab will begin by supporting the region’s hospitals and emergency and urgent care centers (EUCs), they will support all the AdventHealth Medical Group practices in the future. In the meantime, those sites will use Quest Diagnostics.
Previously, our five AdventHealth hospitals, EUCs and clinics have depended on St. Anthony’s microbiology laboratory for their testing needs. AdventHealth saw the opportunity and need for our region to have its own microbiology lab and funded this project.
AdventHealth brought on a project management company and a team of laboratory technology specialists to drive the project to completion. Construction was finished in a matter of months, and state-of-the-art lab equipment was delivered to the new space.
“AdventHealth connected us with Biomerieux, a biotechnology company that has been a huge ally in getting our lab up and running. AdventHealth has invested in top-of-the-line equipment and supplies, therefore investing in better patient care. We’re excited to open and serve our community,” said Andrea Johnson, lab supervisor.
The lab’s leadership team has hired multiple team members and plans to hire around 15 total team members. The lab will be staffed and open 24/7, offering fast, reliable results which will be uploaded straight to Epic by the team. They hope to provide rapid results and, in turn, faster treatment to patients, which in some cases could be lifesaving. They also hope to bring patients greater peace of mind by providing timely results.
“We are growing our team and establishing laboratory expertise for the Rocky Mountain Region,” said Katherine Apostolope, technical lab system specialist. “It will allow us to provide our patients with even greater continuity of care. Additionally, this regional lab will help us decrease turnaround times and keep revenue within our system.”
The new microbiology lab is a huge step for our region and won’t stop there. Plans for a pathology lab and other lab modalities are in the works for the future. We are thrilled about this new offering as part of the continued growth within the Rocky Mountain Region.
