To better service our patients and in response to rising fuel costs, Sebasticook Valley Hospital (SVH) has infused convenience and much-needed accessibility into the laboratory services it delivers to the residents of central Maine. Its Open Lab Service, which began in 2007 and expanded into its fourth location in Carmel in August, offers patients the ability to fill lab orders easily and closer to home – saving them money and time.
“It’s about convenience for our patients,” explained Billie-Jo Sickler, Director of Laboratory Services at SVH. “Rather than travel to Pittsfield, Waterville or Bangor, patients can drive to any local Sebasticook Regional Family Care (SRFC) office for their laboratory tests. We accept standing lab orders from any provider, and we often have results ready within hours.”
The SVH Lab team of five phlebotomists travels to each of the four SRFC locations in Pittsfield, Clinton, Newport, and Carmel during the work week to perform lab procedures on a walk-in basis from 8 am to noon. Sickler noted, “The patients we see at the various SRFC offices are people we know from their visits to the hospital’s laboratory department, so they are familiar with us and know they can expect the same quality care they’d get at the hospital. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
According to Vice President of Clinical Services Michael Peterson, “Our Open Lab Service is result of patient requests for better access to quality services in a convenient and affordable way. Along with helping patients save money in fuel prices, SVH is giving them back the time they would have spent on the road, searching for a parking, registering for outpatient care, and waiting for their lab test. For many, the savings of time is priceless.”
The Open Lab Service began in the spring of 2007 when SVH began sending phlebotomists to the SRFC Pittsfield location, which was then Pittsfield Health Center. Within months, SVH was adding lab service hours at the Newport SRFC office and eventually began providing lab service at the Clinton office. Just last month, the Open Lab Service was introduced in Carmel during the first week of business. Sickler noted that the open lab service is available every day of the week now at the hospital, with a team of phlebotomists traveling to SRFC locations to provide lab services with lab orders from any provider. “We have many who come in for the convenience of our service, but we’re finding more and more people come to the Open Lab Service because they know our phlebotomists and they like the care they receive with us.”
The SVH Open Lab Service sees walk-in patients on Mondays through Fridays in Pittsfield and soon every week day in Newport, which has been currently available three days a week; on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in Clinton; and on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Carmel. Hours are from 8 am to noon, and appointments are not needed.
SVH is a 25-bed critical access hospital in Pittsfield serving a region of more than 30,000 individuals, local business and industries and schools. It was established in 1963 by a group of community leaders, and has been an integral member of the communities it serves ever since. SVH is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and is a proud member of the Eastern Maine Healthcare System. For more information please contact SVH at 487-3726 extension 222. |
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