Skip to main content
menu

October 2017

Staff Honored for Years of Service

10/26/2017

Staff Group PhotoThe Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine hosted its annual staff service awards luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

The luncheon at Helenwood Hall honored employees who recently hit milestones of 10 or more years working in the department. 

Special kudos to Tonia Howard (Courier Division) and Christina Malerk (IHC) who both celebrated their 40th work anniversaries this year.

Click here to view photos from the luncheon.

The Honorees
 

Last 

First 

Years

Division

Aiello

Cesare

15

Auto Lab

Alberty

Deborah

20

Auto Lab

Ayrhart

April

10

Auto Lab

Bucher

Brian

10

Auto Lab

Daley

Stacy

20

Auto Lab

Ryan

Kathleen

30

Auto Lab

Villone, Jr.

James

30

Auto Lab

Arena

Susan

15

Billing

Richards

Jodi

10

Billing

Taccone

Cynthia

10

Billing

Bastian

Kim

10

Blood Bank

Duttinger

Leilani

15

Blood Bank

Enfonde

Michael

30

Blood Bank

Henrichs

Kelly

20

Blood Bank

Brown

Kendra

10

Clinical Trials

Leibenguth

Laurie

10

Clinical Trials

Sage

Mark

30

CLSS

Akut

Joseph

15

Couriers

Dioguardi

Thomas

10

Couriers

Howard

Tonia

40

Couriers

Crowley

Patricia

25

Cytology

Wyatt

Tanya

15

Cytology

Catherine

Camille

10

Histopathology

Reese

Lynn

15

Histopathology

Bannister

Danielle

20

Immunohistochemistry

Malerk

Christina

40

Immunohistochemistry

Piampiano

Sandra

35

Lab Administration

Ramaswamy

Maimoona

20

Lab Administration

King

Kay

35

Lab Client Services

Calunod, Jr.

Baltazar

10

Microbiology

Colbert

Danielle

10

Microbiology

Jesien

Debra

35

Microbiology

Mscichowsk

Mariola

15

Microbiology

Noble

Sheila

35

Microbiology

Walker

Nicole

15

Microbiology

Lum

Michael

15

Outreach

Brewer

Kelly

20

Out Patient Lab

DeAlmeida

Erika

10

Out Patient Lab

Peterdy

Elizabeth

15

Out Patient Lab

Curran

Timothy

25

Pathology & Lab Admin M&D

Stark

Gwen

40

Pathology & Lab Admin M&D

Cooper

Marilyn

15

Phlebotomy

Everts

Amanda

10

Phlebotomy

Jones

Sonia

10

Phlebotomy

Long

Rebecca

10

Phlebotomy

McClary

Bridget

20

Phlebotomy

Morrell

Sandy

10

Phlebotomy

Nhong

Navy

10

Phlebotomy

Odell

Lisa

10

Phlebotomy

Smith

Gregory

25

Phlebotomy

McGorty

Bonnie

30

POCT

Simpson

Nancy

25

POCT

Hodges

Starr

15

SMS

Musial

Scott

10

SMS

Nagendra

Renuka

15

SMS

Norbut

Christina

10

SMS

Searley

Robyn

15

SMS

Somaskanda

Shanthi

15

SMS

Vasilik

Marya

15

SMS

Murray

Bruce

15

Surgical Pathology

Davis

Eric

25

Toxicology

 

Meet the Lab at Ridgeland Road

10/2/2017

UR Medicine Labs is a large operation with many moving parts. From phlebotomists who draw blood at patient clinics across Monroe, Genesee, and Livingston counties to couriers who transport the specimens to locations where testing is performed.

Chemistry LabMore than half of these outpatient specimens are sent to the outpatient (OP) laboratory on Ridgeland Road in Henrietta.

Much of the building is leased by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and also houses the Microarray Lab, Clinical Trials, Lab Outreach, Client Services, and Courier Services.

The OP lab has a staff of 12 who run tests six days a week. While a large portion of outpatient tests for UR Medicine Labs are performed there, the lab can sometimes go unnoticed due to its location, says lab manager, Liz Peterdy.  

“I think people are surprised to know how much we do and that we have the large equipment that they have at the main lab (at Strong Memorial Hospital),” she said.

Besides the chemistry and hematology areas, the lab at Ridgeland has a fully staffed specimen management and reference lab.

Pathology first began leasing space in the building in 2008. The following year, a lab was set up to allow for testing of clinical trials specimens. More equipment was added to accommodate outpatient testing, and volume has continued to grow ever since.

Today, the lab at Ridgeland tackles a wide scope of work. There are a combined 4 million clinical trials and outpatient tests performed there every year. 

Helping Build Something

Clinical trials specimens come from patients participating in a variety of trials for new or experimental treatments.

These specimens are received from across the U.S. and beyond, and their results will be used for the development of treatments for anything from Parkinson’s disease to infertility, or certain types of cancer.

“The CT samples are definitely unique to this lab,” said assistant lab supervisor, Jason Thomas. “The majority of our work is outpatient, but the CTs are interwoven with those clinical samples, which make very unique challenges,” he said. “We have interactions not just with the samples, but with the CT team.”

Heme LabThis means assisting with outside audits that ensure the lab is compliant with regulations for clinical trials testing. Each step of the process, from the time the specimens arrive to when their results are reported, is calculated with great care. 

“With all of that, we look at the structure of everything we do and scrutinize our processes – more, I think, than other labs do,” said Thomas.

From a lab perspective, it’s often gratifying to know that you’re playing an important role in helping patients.

“We get a lot of feedback from our clinical trials team and a lot of satisfaction from seeing the results used in the studies when they go on for FDA submission,” said Peterdy. “It’s really rewarding to see that you are helping them build something.”

The lab’s days at Ridgeland Road are numbered as the department prepares to move all of its operations to Bailey Road. The first phase of the relocation project is breaking ground in October 2017 and the Ridgeland team is slated to move into the space by early 2019.

Being the “first” lab at Bailey will be an adjustment as it moves into a larger space adjacent to other testing areas, but is expected to improve communication and workflow as labs come under one roof.

Kelly Brewer is a technical specialist who works at Ridgeland’s chemistry lab. She said she likes the current location because it allows her to do a variety of things.

“I get to work Chemistry, Hematology, and it’s a small enough group that we all get along,” she said. “We’re like our own little family.”

Brewer said she looks forward to relocating, though it will mean changing the way things are now.

“It’s going to be different, but I think it’ll be good,” she said.

In Photos: 

Top: Liz Jackson, MT, tracks samples at the Chemistry Laboratory. 

Above: Erika De Almeida, MT, reads blood specimen tubes in the Hematology Lab at Ridgeland Road.

Explaining Common Laboratory Reference Changes in Pregnancy

9/18/2017

Drs. Alexandra Danakas (PGY-2) and Tamera Paczos have co-authored an article that has been published in an online continuing education OB/GYN curriculum produced by the University.

Pregnant motherThe article entitled Understanding Basic Maternal and Fetal Laboratory Measures was published in Perifacts on October 1. It describes the specific ways in which changes in physiology in pregnant patients can yield laboratory reference values that may seem abnormal in patients who are not pregnant.

These differences can sometimes be misinterpreted by physicians who use them to diagnose a disease outside of pregnancy. Physicians can be better equipped to manage such patients by better understanding the ways in which fluctuations in hormones and changes to maternal physiology affect the major organ systems.

The article includes a chart listing some of the most common reference ranges, comparing a non-pregnant patient with patients in their first, second, or third trimester.

You may also like

No related posts found.