Behind the Scenes: Life in the Lab
A lab tech plays a critical role in patient care. We recently stopped by the labs at Cape Cod Hospital, Falmouth Hospital and the CCHC Lab Services (C-Lab) in Hyannis to find out more about their work.
Joy (Diagnostic Tech) and Jen (Lab Manager) at Cape Cod Hospital
Charlene and Erynne, both Medical Technologists (MTs), at Falmouth Hospital
MACC lab employees: Alex (phlebotomist) and Rochelle (phlebotomy supervisor)
Tom, MLT in Blood Bank at Cape Cod Hospital
Erynne (MT) at Falmouth Hospital
Jessica, MT in Blood Bank at Cape Cod Hospital
Charlene (MT) at Falmouth Hospital
Melissa, Lead MLT in Blood Bank with Bristol Community College Student Matthew, at Cape Cod Hospital
Amy (MT), at right, and Paula (RR Supervisor) at Falmouth Hospital
Sue, MT in Microbiology (in front of Panther/Fusion analyzer that performs COVID PCR testing) at Cape Cod Hospital
Anne MLT (Medical Lab technician) at Falmouth Hospital
Tony, MLT in Microbiology at hood pipetting COVID PCR samples, at Cape Cod Hospital
Sylvia and Linda, LST (Lab Support Tech), at Falmouth Hospital
Members of the Microbiology team at Cape Cod Hospital: (Left to right) Trish (Microbiology Supervisor), Val (MT), Sue (MT), Ann (MT) and Tony (MLT)
Linda (LST) at Falmouth Hospital
Members of the Donor Room team at Cape Cod Hospital: Teri (Donor Room Apheresis Tech), Linda (Lead MT) and Lok (Transfusion Services Supervisor)
Paula (Rapid Response Supervisor) and Hollie (Blood Bank and Lab Support Supervisor) at Falmouth Hospital
Teresa, LST (processing COVID PCR samples), at Cape Cod Hospital
Dr. Skinner (Pathologist), Traci (Pathology LST) and Kerry (Lab Manager) at Falmouth Hospital
Crystal, LST (processing STAT samples), at Cape Cod Hospital
Dawn, MT and Jean, MT (in front of our Hematology analyzer) at Cape Cod Hospital
Brandi, MLT in Hematology, at Cape Cod Hospital
Jacob, UMASS Dartmouth student at Cape Cod Hospital’s new Chemistry Atellica analyzers and Aptio front-end automation
Alaina, Lead MT in Chemistry at Cape Cod Hospital
Paul, Courier, at Cape Cod Hospital
Left to right Dawn (MT), Crystal (LST), and Cindy (LST) at Cape Cod Hospital
Paul (Courier), Jen (Lab Manager), Teresa (LST) and Crystal (LST) at Cape Cod Hospital
Donna, PA at her grossing station in Pathology, at Cape Cod Hospital
Brian, Lead CT in Cytology at Cape Cod Hospital
Troye, Phlebotomy Supervisor at Cape Cod Hospital
What’s it like to work in a lab? We recently stopped by the labs at Cape Cod Hospital, Falmouth Hospital and the CCHC Lab Services (C-Lab) in Hyannis to find out.
A day in the life of a lab tech involves performing thousands of laboratory tests daily, ranging from routine, general health profiles to the more special chemistries and highly complex molecular testing. Cape Cod Healthcare staff analyzes and reports test results on bloods, urines, body fluids and tissue samples, which help physicians make a diagnosis, treat and monitor a patient’s health.
The Transfusion Services division of the laboratory collects units of blood from donors to be transfused as whole blood or its components, such as platelets and fresh frozen plasma. Blood collections support the OR, Oncology, Obstetrics, the ER and others at both hospitals.
“During the pandemic, we began offering molecular testing for COVID in our microbiology department, which has been a very high-volume test,” says Jennifer Clark, lab manager at Cape Cod Hospital. “At one point, we were analyzing 1,800 samples a day,” says Clark, adding 400 to 600 samples are more the norm.
“There’s this whole other field of healthcare that people don’t know about,” says Kerry Enokian, lab manager and tech consultant at Falmouth Hospital. Per the CDC, “Seventy percent of today’s medical decisions depend on laboratory results, showing the important role of clinical laboratories in today’s healthcare system.
Thank you to our lab teams for all they do every day!
Click through the slideshow to see Cape Cod Healthcare employees at work inside the medical labs.
