National Lab Professionals Week is April 19-25. Our lab professionals are a vital part of your care here at Big Sandy Medical Center. We are so lucky to have Maricel Bachoco and Carla Gilman on our staff. These ladies are the ones that draw your blood, swab your nose or throat, and investigate all the other samples you may provide! Our lab professionals are the detectives of your healthcare team. They look at the smallest of cells in your body and determine which ones are functioning like they are supposed to, which ones don't belong, and even which ones are missing. Through the knowledge obtained through their investigation, the rest of the healthcare team can determine how to best treat each patient. It has been said that without these lab professionals, your provider is just guessing. They provide the proof that is needed to treat you appropriately.
There are many different types of lab professionals, including: Medical Laboratory Scientists, Medical Laboratory Technicians, Cytotechnologists, Histotechnologists, Phlebotomists, Molecular Biologists, Pathologists' Assistants, Clinical Chemists, and Technologist in Cytogenetics. Maricel Bachoco is a Clinical Laboratory Scientist and Carla Gilman is a Clinical Laboratory Technician. They both wear several hats in our facility. They are licensed Limited Permit Technicians, so they can perform x-rays. Carla also does all of the autoclaving (sterilizes instruments used in procedures) for the facility.
Carla started at BSMC in November of 2013, in the business office. While working there, she obtained training to take x-rays for the facility in 2015. By the fall of 2016 she began her education to become a Lab Tech and graduated in 2019. Carla said, "I have always been interested in science. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a mortician but then I toured the mortuary and decided I wanted to help the living. I was a biology minor in college the first time, but then life happened. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to finish what I was always meant to do. My favorite part is the investigation part of trying to figure out what is going on with the patient. Microbiology and blood bank are areas that really fascinated me, even though we don't have those departments in our lab. I still study and research them avidly."
Maricel started at BSMC in 2013 and became the Lab Manager 2 ½ years ago. She said, "When I was young, I wanted to become a doctor. I took Medical Technology as my pre-med, but then I came to love it; so I stayed as a Technologist. My favorite part is we help, or should I say we play a crucial role in patient diagnosis and our job is exciting and interesting. We are moving to Florida soon because of the weather (warm and humid) and I admit being away from your family takes a toll. I am so thankful to Big Sandy for all the help and support. We couldn't have stayed this long if not for all of you." Maricel plans to move to Florida at the end of May. As she was the Lab Manager, we are currently looking for a Medical Laboratory Technologist to fill that position. If you or someone you know is interested in an application, please visit http://www.bsmc.org/employment.
Our lab at BSMC can run most basic tests in the facility, such as blood counts, metabolic panels, and urine analysis. We do send out all cultures and more specialized labs as we don't have the equipment required to complete all the testing onsite. A culture is required when we need to discover exactly which bug is causing an infection. This allows the provider to choose an antibiotic that will effectively kill the bug and heal the infection. Some bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics so it is vital we get the right pairing to resolve the infection. These ladies are truly a priceless part of your healthcare team and we are so grateful to have them at BSMC.
Be sure to thank Maricel for serving our community over the last seven years, and Carla for continuing to serve our community. They deserve praise every day, but especially this week! As we praise them, we also thank you for continuing to be the heart of BSMC.
