Cary Medical Center is marking National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week April 20 – 26.
Contributed photoCaribou Mayor Miles Williams signs a proclamation designating April 20-26 as National Medical Laboratory Professional Week. With Williams in the City Council chambers are, from left, Ulyianna Michaud and Angela Farley, both laboratory technologists from the Cary Medical Center lab.
The clinical laboratory professional is a key member of today’s health care team. Laboratory professionals have the skills to unlock important medical information that is pivotal to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
“We are so very fortunate to have such a talented and experienced team of laboratory professionals,” said McElwain, a medical laboratory technologist and manager of the Cary Medical Center lab, who has been with Cary for 30 years.
“The dynamics of health care are ever changing with new technologies and procedures,” said McElwain. “Our staff is up to the challenge and we have a true state-of-the-art facility.”
Cary’s laboratory professionals have a combined 505 years’ of experience. Critical to the success of the hospital lab is ongoing professional education. Staff is required to attend in-services both at the hospital and other locations.
To help assure accurate results experienced technologists conduct daily, weekly and monthly maintenance on lab equipment. Abnormal patient results are re-run and established critical ranges are immediately called to the patient’s provider or on-call physician. Working closely with the patient’s provider is critical, as a laboratory test result is often the first indication of a disease or condition.
Pathologist Dr. Ryan R. Lin is Cary’s laboratory director. Lin, who also provides pathology services for Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent, said that Cary has a strong reputation for quality and is nationally accredited.
“Cary has a long history of providing quality medical laboratory services,” said Lin. “We are accredited by the College of American Pathology, CLIA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, and the FDA. This is a tribute to the outstanding work of our medical laboratory professionals.”
Angela Farley, medical laboratory technologist, and Lab Week planning team member, said that everyone must work together for the laboratory to meet its mission.
“It all starts with the specimen collection process,” Farley said. “Our phlebotomists and technologists are highly trained in specimen collection, transport and processing. We function as a real team with each staff member contributing toward the same outcome – accurate and reliable results for our patients.”
The demand for medical laboratory technologists is very high, according to McElwain. “We are so very fortunate to have a strong staff here at Cary and this would not be possible without the support of the Medical Laboratory Technology program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. We work very closely with the UMPI program and about 65 percent of our current staff was trained through this program. Students complete clinical rotations here at the hospital, and we have been able to recruit a number of techs to our lab right out of college. We certainly encourage young people or non-traditional students looking for a challenging and rewarding career to consider the option of becoming a medical laboratory professional. We are pleased to provide career information or job shadowing opportunities to interested individuals.”
To learn more about medical laboratory careers visit mainehealthcareers.com or contact the Cary laboratory at 498-1150.
