Laboratory Services
Laboratory
RPH’s Laboratory is staffed by personnel licensed by the State of Tennessee and certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and American Medical Technologists. The Lab is divided into four special sections, each of which deals with a different area of laboratory science: Chemistry, Hematology, Blood Bank, and Microbiology. Laboratory technology and equipment at RPH are constantly changing as new advances are made in the science of medical technology.
The CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is an internationally recognized program and the only one of its kind that utilizes teams of practicing laboratory professionals as inspectors. Designed to go well beyond regulatory compliance, the program helps laboratories achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care. The laboratory at River Park Hospital is CAP accredited.
The program is based on rigorous accreditation standards that are translated into detailed and focused checklist requirements. The checklists, which provide a quality practice blueprint for laboratories to follow, are used by the inspection teams as a guide to assess the overall management and operation of the laboratory. Click here to learn more about how Pathologists contribute to your health.
The River Park Laboratory Department is comprised of technologists, technicians, and phlebotomists which operate a variety of high tech, state of the art equipment. At River Park Hospital, every tech masters all components in each department of the Lab. This allows our Laboratory great flexibility.
The Laboratory staff at River Park Hospital provides a full service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Lab offers hundreds of lab tests for inpatients, outpatients, and emergency patients. The Lab works closely with virtually every department in the hospital.
Laboratory Services are provided at River Park Hospital to conduct tests on clinical specimens from patients. The laboratory gets important information from these tests to help the physician diagnose, treat and prevent diseases.
Most specimens tested are blood, urine and tissue, but you’d be surprised to know that tests could be performed on hair, fingernails and even sweat.
Lab Technicians, Technologists and Pathologists all work together to arrange for testing, including cross matching units of blood to arrange for blood transfusions, cultures, cardiac enzymes, drug monitoring, coagulation testing, blood counts, electrolytes, and chemistry assays.
Sometimes, your physician may request a test be performed that may require fasting. Certain tests are very sensitive to changes that occur after a meal, and can only be interpreted by comparing results in a fasting state. That fasting is determined by the type of test to be done. For instance, triglycerides or a lipid profile require 12 hours of fasting, but blood sugar can be tested after a six hour fast.
With a commitment to quality and accuracy, River Park Hospital’s lab is surveyed by CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program and all inspections are done with an eye toward assuring that the lab offers the highest possible quality of patient testing.
River Park Hospital is proud to support Blood Assurance
Click here for more information about Blood Assurance, how to become a donor, or for a calendar and location of local blood drives.