CovingtonCares 13 All hospital units, including the Emergency Department, use the lab. So do the CCH clinics. “Anything that they would need to treat that patient immediately, we provide that with in-house testing,” Magee said. Comprehensive Testing That includes blood tests, urinalysis, and tests of other body fluids and tissues. Chemistry analysis assesses kidney, liver, and thyroid functioning, monitors cardiac and therapeutic drug performance, and screens for diabetes. Molecular testing screens for COVID-19, flu, strep, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). And that’s just a partial list of the unit’s capabilities. The lab also handles inpatient transfusions and performs tests for some non-CCH medical practices. Patients who see a family doctor, pediatrician, or other specialist not affiliated with CCH can ask their provider to use the hospital for lab work so the patient can avoid driving to larger cities where labs may have longer wait times. Employers regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation depend on the lab for employee drug and alcohol screening. “Any entity that comes in with their form and collection kit that needs a DOT test, we provide that service,” Magee said. School Testing The lab also serves other employers, including the Covington County School District, which tests bus drivers, teachers, and sometimes students. It all adds up to approximately 24,000 patient encounters a year. Covington County Hospital keeps its lab state-of-the-art. “We’ve continually changed our instrumentation to meet the latest technology,” Magee said. “For example, we brought in molecular testing during the COVID pandemic. That was huge, because one of the COVID strains could only be detected by molecular testing.” ‘Super Nice’ CCH opened its current lab facility in 2020. “I can tell you, because I’ve visited some other labs recently, that it is just super nice,” Magee said. “Everything is very userfriendly. It’s designed with a logical flow to it.” The lab has 10 full-time employees, including Magee, who is a medical laboratory scientist. The staff has four other medical laboratory scientists and a medical laboratory technician. Like Magee, they all have certifications from the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Phlebotomists, who draw blood, fill the rest of the positions. Magee began her career 29 years ago and has been at Covington County Hospital for seven years. She also directs the labs at CCH’s partner hospitals: Simpson General Hospital in Mendenhall, Magee General Hospital in Magee, and Smith County Emergency Hospital in Raleigh. Calibrating Equipment Her duties include calibrations to make sure all the equipment in all four hospitals adheres to federal standards set out in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Demand for lab scientists and technicians currently exceeds supply. Magee urges anyone interested in a good-paying healthcare career with regular hours to consider the medical laboratory technology program at CopiahLincoln Community College or the medical laboratory science program (which has an online option) at The University of Southern Mississippi. After all, how many professions allow you to help save lives every day? For information about laboratory services, call 601.698.0115 or scan the QR code. LEARN MORE Tanya Magee BSMLS, (ASCP) Director of Laboratory Operations
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