RDH laboratory department prepares for the future

RANGELY — The Rangely District Hospital is boasting new faces, services and equipment in its lab.
The department offers a variety of testing services including chemistry, hematology, coagulation, blood gases, microbiology, blood banking, phlebotomy and urinalysis. Within the past year the laboratory has purchased new equipment to better facilitate these services and has expanded the testing regimen to include many new procedures with the existing equipment.
The lab is accredited through Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and must pass regular, certified inspections to maintain this accreditation.
In addition, the laboratory staff must participate in proficiency testing provided by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) at regular intervals throughout the year covering all testing done on patient samples.
The laboratory medical director is Dr. Robert Kurtzman, DO. He is a board certified pathologist employed with The Pathology Group at Community Hospital in Grand Junction and has served as director for more than four years.
Kelly Just, MT(ASCP), CLS(NCA) serves as lab manager. She was educated at the University of North Dakota and University of Mary, and she completed her clinicals while working for a year at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, N.D. She later accepted a position at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Just worked as a generalist specializing in blood bank services for five years before moving to Rangely.
Deb Smith, Chris Allred and Brooke Monckton are all new faces in the laboratory. The three have extensive experience in the medical field as EMTs, ambulance/respiratory assistants and phlebotomists. Rangely District Hospital has been able to offer the opportunity to obtain advanced training to the three through the online Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) program sponsored by Weber State University in Utah. This nationally accredited program offers the students the opportunity to take classes online while working and completing clinicals locally.
CLIA has classified all tests based on their difficulty and defines who can perform each test. The advanced technology added to the lab allows Smith, Allred and Monckton to work at the hospital, gaining invaluable experience while attaining their degrees.