Lab Acquires Testing Machine and Is Praised for Maintenance
Posted on Friday, November 10th, 2023
Siemens technical application specialists Tony Gregory and Monica Camargo were at the hospital on October 30 to install a brand new laboratory testing machine.
The Siemens Dimension EXL 200 Integrated Chemistry System will be the workhorse of the laboratory, capable of performing more than 400 laboratory tests per hour.
Testing is completely automated. Under the hood of the 750-pound machine, test tubes move through various stations for analysis. A menu of up to 47 tests can be performed on a single blood or body fluid sample.
Numerous patient samples can be tested at one time. Results are obtained for 90% of the testing needs of the clinic, ER, and hospital.
Laboratory tests allow doctors to diagnose, treat, and monitor patients.
The new equipment is 56” wide and 41” deep and will occupy the same space as the machine it is replacing.
That model, also a Siemens, dated to the 1990s but was acquired by the hospital in 2004. Gregory made an observation about the quality of care that greatly extended its life.
“This was the only machine like it that was still in use in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the Texas Panhandle. It kept running because it was so well-maintained by the lab staff. Wherever I go, I brag on this lab. I tell others, ‘If you want to know how to take care of your testing system, go to Love County,’” Gregory said.
John Galano is laboratory services director, and Kelvin McMillan was director for 13 prior years, starting in 2008.
Gregory continued, “This is a great lab, the best lab I know of in a small hospital. The whole facility is like that. You know when you walk in that the hospital is not new, but it is very well-maintained, and everyone we meet here is welcoming, from nursing to housekeeping.”
Camargo, the second member of the installation team, was visiting for the first time. She joined Siemens last year following 15 years as a laboratory technologist in Texas. She said she will be the technical application specialist who will make future service calls on the new equipment.