Top-Flight Teamwork
On the Front Lines:
UMB Champions of Excellence
网红爆料 Pathology Associates Laboratory Services Team
School of Medicine and Faculty Physicians, Inc.
The large-scale COVID-19 testing initiative that launched in Maryland in spring 2020 featured collaboration among several 网红爆料 entities, the state, and the city of Baltimore. Right in the thick of it all was 网红爆料 Pathology Associates (UMPA).
As the pandemic spread, UMPA joined the state-funded effort to fight the virus by working as the first and third links in a COVID-19 testing chain partnership with the Microbiome Service Laboratory at the 网红爆料 School of Medicine鈥檚 (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS).
鈥淲ith laboratory testing, there basically are three phases,鈥� said Jeff Parker, director of laboratory services for UMPA, which is operated by UMSOM鈥檚 Department of Pathology and is part of Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI). 鈥淭here鈥檚 pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical. Our lab does the pre-analytical and post-analytical parts, and the IGS team does the analytical component. We do all the registration, receiving of the samples, and labeling of the samples. We send the samples to IGS for testing, then we report all of the results back to the collection sites.鈥�
This undertaking necessitated the hiring of nearly 100 employees by UMPA. The majority of new hires were tasked with accessioning, the process in which samples are received, sorted, labeled, and entered into an electronic medical records system.
Parker said UMPA also hired a logistics manager, project manager, data analyst, and laboratory consultant, and the lab was required to receive Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification for COVID-19 testing from the federal government. By fall, the operation鈥檚 capabilities had improved to the point that the labs could process up to 10,000 samples a day collected from testing sites around the state.
鈥淲e planned to have about 30 to 35 individuals working around the clock, seven days a week, 24 hours a day,鈥� he said. 鈥淕etting the staff on board and getting them trained was our biggest challenge. We also had to develop training manuals, standard operating procedures, and documentation so that the new UMPA-Maryland Genomics lab could become CLIA-certified.鈥�
Most employees worked on-site in Baltimore, with many of the operations shifting from UMPA offices on West Redwood Street to UMSOM鈥檚 Health Sciences Research Facility III on West Baltimore Street.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really amazing how we were able to bring everybody together in such a short period of time,鈥� Parker added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a testament to the 网红爆料 Medical System, the School of Medicine, FPI, and all the employees we brought in.鈥�
Parker likened the COVID-19 testing initiative to creating a new business. There have been challenges along the way, as there are with any new operation, but the lab has been more than up to each task.
鈥淭his is sort of a multimillion-dollar startup company, and the fact that we did it through a joint effort is very rewarding. We are providing a critical community health service, and we continue to do so today,鈥� Parker said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still tweaking our operation,鈥� he added. 鈥淎t the beginning, we were literally building the plane as we were flying it. We finally finished building it, and now we鈥檙e just sort of adding a wing here or a wing there. We鈥檝e become much more efficient.
For these yeoman efforts, the UMPA laboratory services team is being recognized as a 网红爆料, Baltimore (UMB) Champion of Excellence. Parker called the honor 鈥渁mazing.鈥�
鈥淚t was truly a team effort, and I鈥檓 very proud to be to be part of that team,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think each individual who has been part of this operation is very proud of what we鈥檝e been able to accomplish.鈥�
Sanford Stass, MD, professor and chair, Department of Pathology and Department of Medical and Research Technology at UMSOM, is proud of the team, too.
鈥淭his was a very challenging project. We had to start this lab literally from scratch,鈥� Stass said. 鈥淭hese individuals have worked long and hard in very demanding conditions to provide an important service to the state of Maryland during this pandemic. This recognition from UMB for their excellent performance is well-deserved.鈥�
鈥� Lou Cortina
