Best little lab by a dam site

A few miles from the grand Hoover Dam, and about 20 miles from the glitter and glamour of Las Vegas, sits Boulder City, NV. With a population of around 20,000 residents, Boulder City prides itself on a quaint, small-town atmosphere, quality recreational facilities (except gaming) and a low crime rate. Boulder City conceived by the Federal Government in 1931 during the Depression as a model city is also home to the Family Doctors of Boulder City, which by its own claim is the best little lab by a dam site. And according to MLOs three-judge panel in this years Medical Laboratory of the Year competition, it is the best little lab in the nation among the entries for 2003.Pat Armour, MT(ASCP), laboratory supervisor and the first staff member at Family Doctors to receive the news of the labs win, says, We are all very excited and proud to have been chosen as the winner of the first MLO Medical Lab of the Year Award. It is a tribute to our entire staff that you have chosen us for this award.Dr. Herve Bezard, one of the four doctors who compose Family Doctors of Boulder City, nominated his physicians office laboratory (POL) for the MLO competition. The group specializes in family practice, providing medical care and treatment for patients of all ages. Family Doctors offers an extensive set of testing services and procedures necessary for a comprehensive, preventive healthcare program on site. These include: complete X-ray, as well as mammograms and bone-density testing; treadmill; EKG; Holter monitor; spirometry; ICG; minor surgery; and of course, a complete laboratory with moderate-complexity testing.Family Doctors lab is currently staffed with one full-time technologist, one full-time assistant and one part-time technician. This staff works with the medical assistants and RNs to ensure proper sample collection, including phlebotomy assistance with difficult draws. It utilizes input from all staff to create patient information forms for example, occult blood, 24-hour urine and stool collection. The laboratory staff works with the billing department to ensure proper CPT codes are used for lab testing, researches and informs staff of Medicare Medical Necessity guidelines and monitors insurance company contacts to ensure that Family Doctors is allowed to perform on-site testing.In 2000, the laboratory underwent an expansive renovation and upgrade. Prior to that, its test results were hand-written on reports. Jumping from product to product can make it difficult to provide quality testing says Armour. Ed Boyadjian, our Fisher HealthCare sales rep, has been instrumental in enabling our lab to upgrade and move into the 21st century. He and Dennis Muchmore from Olympus America, put together an affordable package deal that allowed our lab to purchase a Olympus AU400, Criterion II and Lab DAQ LIS for less than we were spending a month on supplies and service for a 10-year-old chemistry analyzer. With its LIS interface to four analyzers, the labs efficiency, productivity and customer service were greatly improved. It is important to establish a relationship with vendors that is built on loyalty and trust. While it is true that we all have to watch the bottom line, sometimes the lowest price isnt always the best deal, Armour suggests. Established vendors like Ed are able to be on the lookout for new products, know what budget constraints I have and dont try to push products that I wont use. This makes my job easier.With the upgrades, all lab testing is performed on the same date of request, and patient results can be autofaxed to referral specialists. To further streamline productivity, patient reports can be printed cumulatively, a new test-request form was created to enhance test-ordering efficiency and a server connecting the billing system and the LIS uses the same unique patient I.D. number for a future interface with a medical-records system.Even before this major overhaul, in 1995, Family Doctors was chosen for inspection by the state of Nevada and HCFA. The lab was deemed an example of a well-run and well-organized POL, and received zero deficiencies. For future inspections, the lab enrolled in COLA. In 2000, the COLA inspector gave Family Doctors POL a 100 percent compliance rating; in 2002, it received a 98.91 percent rating. The lab has never scored below 80 percent on any CAP survey since 1990 and consistently receives 100 percent for the majority of analytes. The labs testing volume has steadily increased over the past four years, from 82,889 in 1999 to 101,090 in 2002. Family Doctors was the first lab in the Boulder City area to provide direct LDL testing, educate and provide physicians with INR results for protime, provide same-day results for Hgb Alc, microalbumin, Troponin I, and H. pylori. Current innovations include the use of the Coaguchek Protime system, with all forms created by the lab, along with staff training. HS-CRP testing will soon be available on site.Family Doctors laboratory staff has worked hard to provide high-tech service and quality patient care with the small-town personal touch. It serves the Boulder City community in ways other than merely performing patient testing, however. The staff knows many of the patients on a personal level, serving with them on school committees, attending the same churches and shopping at the local grocery store. It has also answered the needs of the educational facilities in the area.In 1993, Family Doctors responded to the flood crisis in the Midwest by sending lab equipment and supplies to a South Dakota med-tech school. After renovating its lab in 2000, an RAXT chemistry analyzer, reagents and miscellaneous equipment were donated to the Community College of Southern Nevada for use by veterinary and lab-technician students. Last year, the lab facilitated the donation of a microscope with photo capabilities to the Boulder City High School biology department. Armour speaks to numerous grade school and middle and high school classes on general laboratory testing, as well as other topics like germs, hand-washing and immunology. She has worked with advanced biology students to prepare a video on urine testing and also participated in job shadowing by local high school students. But outreach to the community involves much more than simply participating in such functions. It means that Family Doctors staff has a mutual goal and is dedicated to meeting it as a team.I think the basic premise that our staff works from is that each patient is a person and not just an I.D. number. If the staff cooperates and helps each other, then we are able to provide the best service possible to that person, she says. Sometimes that means carrying messages, helping with filing or taking the time to answer a question about a lab test. The pride the staff takes in providing quality testing and services to our patients fosters a cooperative work environment.Blessed by the gods with a good sense of humor