Laboratory

The main Laboratories at each of our facilities are staffed seven days a week, twenty-four hours per day.

Laboratory staff includes personnel at many different levels: phlebotomists, computer operators, customer service personnel, clerical personnel, billing personnel, medical laboratory technicians, medical technologists, histotechnologists, cytotechnologists, supervisors, section heads, management staff, and pathologists.

Medical laboratory technicians (MLT), medical technologists (MT), cytotechnologists, and pathologists are required to have a Tennessee license to practice. All cytotechnologists are certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and have a baccalaureate degree. The majority of MLT's have associate degrees and national certification, while the majority of MT's have baccalaureate degrees and national certification.

The Laboratory serves hospital in-patients in all patient care and surgical areas (including pre-admission), Emergency Department patients, outpatients for many areas, and health screening "patients." The department also performs reference laboratory testing for physician offices, laboratories, and other clients.

The Laboratory provides diagnostic, therapeutic, and health assessment testing. The customer service needs of the Laboratory include, but are not limited to, specimen collection, and processing; performance of laboratory analyses on blood, tissue, and body fluids; provision of blood products; reporting of data; and consultation. Laboratory testing is provided on both a routine and a stat basis, depending on patient care needs. Core Lab (Chemistry and Hematology), Microbiology, Immunology, Blood Bank, Urinalysis, Anatomic Pathology, and Cytopathology services are provided on site. All testing is performed in the main Laboratory. The Laboratory currently performs a wide variety of routine clinical and anatomical tests on site.