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A prick of the needle, a bit of blood drawn, and the appointment is over for the patient. But what happens to the blood in the needle after the patient has left the hospital?
The laboratory at the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital provides testing for those blood samples and returns timely, accurate results for the tests.
"Basically, we are responsible for all laboratory testing on the base, which includes active duty and reserve service members, family members and retirees," said Petty Officer 1st Class Alex Escobal, the lead petty officer of the hospital's laboratory. "We conduct and average of about 3,000 tests every month. Depending on what's going on, we may have even more than that."
Recently, in light of the H1N1 virus pandemic, the hospital's 21 laboratory technicians processed and shipped numerous blood samples and specimens to Naval Health Research Center Point Loma, Calif., to track and study the virus, said the Iba Zambales, Philippines, native.
The lab is also partnered with the Community Blood Bank, a blood donor organization in Palm Desert, to keep a sufficient supply of blood in the hospital. Blood samples from all Combat Center personnel are also kept at the hospital as part of their medical records. While stored here, a lab tech must be responsible for tracking all blood samples to ensure there are no mistakes.
"We must label everything carefully to make sure a patient's blood is their blood," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Arnel Mangosing, a lab tech at the hospital. "This is the blood that will stay with your record the entire time you're in Twentynine Palms.
"This is a simple process, but it's also one of the most important," said the Cypress, Calif., native. "There's really no room for error here. We use this blood for identification, blood transfusions or anything else we need. If you give someone the wrong blood, they could die within an hour."
The lab also has the capability to test for a variety of illnesses, including leukemia, anemia, influenza, HIV, strep throat and many others, using blood samples, Escobal said. They can also test urine and semen for alcohol and illegal substances like narcotics. Once the tests are completed, they are shipped to Point Loma to be officially analyzed.
To become a laboratory technician, the Sailors train for 13 months at either the Naval School of Health Sciences in San Diego, or at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Va., Escobal said. Afterward, the lab techs may be sent to bases worldwide to support medical operations.
"Most of our staff members have a lot of education not just from military training, but also from civilian schools as well," he said. "We're also very lucky here because many of the sailors have deployed at least once or have served around the world at different bases, so there is a lot of knowledge and diversity in our lab. There's a test for just about everything and we have a highly trained, qualified staff to get the job done."
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2009 12:55 |
| Story ID: | 35355 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 82 |
This work, Blood drawn? Where has it gone?, by Cpl Nick Dunn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
