News

Beebe Clinical Laboratory Hosts Open House

06/02/05

Beebe Medical Center's Clinical Laboratory staff celebrated Medical Laboratory Week recently by hosting tours of the new, expanded facility.
The laboratory, located in the ground level of the hospital, was built 10 years ago as a part of the Hospital's Clinical Building expansion that included the Tunnell Cancer Center, The Hastings Heart Care Center, and the Baylis Rehabilitation Center. The size of the laboratory was increased from 5,000 to 8,500 square feet through a $1.5 million expansion project that was completed in November 2004. The expansion was needed so that the laboratory could accommodate advances in equipment technology, as well as an increased need in services due to the population growth over the past decade.
Beebe Medical Center holds its laboratory to the highest standards, said Malcolm Hancock, Director of the Laboratory. We realize that laboratories are essential in diagnosing diseases and medical conditions, and we make every effort to provide the latest technologies and services to help ensure proper diagnosis.
In addition to generally increasing the size of the laboratory, new areas were created to meet testing needs:
A dedicated immunology section was created to help diagnose infectious viral diseases.
A second frozen section area was created in the Pathology Section of the Department that can provide test results from a variety of tissues in about 15 minutes, compared with a typical, 24-hour, turn-around time.
Also, dedicated laboratory space was added for the preparation of thin preps and highly specialized Immunoperoxidase staining for a more precise diagnosis of cancer.
The Laboratory doubled the size of the blood bank and hematology areas.
A new, 140-square-foot, walk-in refrigerator was installed to provide additional cold storage for storing specimens and reagents. Other new areas include an educational conference room, a chemical storage room, and additional office space.
The Clinical Laboratory provides lab processing and testing services for the hospital, as well as for physician offices. The Laboratory is certified by the College of American Pathologists and is regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).