CANTON - Mercy Medical Center Pathology and Laboratory Medicine recently implemented the world's first integrated hematology and A1C system.
Called Lavender Top Management, the system combines the Sysmex HST-N hematology automation platform with the VARIAN II TURBO Link from Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., enabling on-demand diabetes testing, while reducing turnaround by more than 50 percent.
Mercy's HST-N platform, the first hands-free system of its kind in northeast Ohio, also controls analysis and data of six routine blood tests, including complete blood count and red blood count.
Mercy's early adoption of this integrated testing solution aligns with the hospital's impressive list of world, national, state and Stark County "firsts."
"The hematology and A1C system, now fully online at Mercy, also utilizes decision-logic software, Sysmex MOLIS WAM, to maximize efficiencies in data and sample management and labor utilization," said Barbara Carter, core lab coordinator at Mercy.
Mary Ann Burich-Boccia, the lab's administrative director, believes this superior diabetes-testing service will positively impact the quality and timeliness of the acute care and management of diabetic patients.
"With diabetes affecting more than 20 million children and adults in the United States, coupled with the nation's obesity epidemic, we saw the need to create a laboratory infrastructure for the future," she said. "By automating and consolidating our high-volume hematology and diabetes testing, we have dramatically improved our operational efficiency, while reducing costs and errors. And, with 75 percent of our samples no longer needing technologist-touch, we are freeing our technologists for more critical tasks, such as reviewing abnormal results."
Diabetes, a chronic condition that occurs when the body fails to process sugar (or glucose) correctly, increases a person's risk for developing serious complications such as heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, and renal and nervous system diseases. The A1C blood test estimates blood glucose control during the previous three to four months.
Proper diabetes management can delay or even prevent the onset of complications, allowing patients to live healthier, more productive lives.