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Laboratory Services

Our state-of-the-art laboratory may be located out of sight, but when it comes to the services it provides our medical providers and ultimately our patients, it’s anything but out of mind. Our doctors have an expectation of fast, accurate results, and the Lab is a vital link in helping the physicians make a diagnosis.

Our staff are very skilled at drawing blood, helping keep you comfortable, and offering efficient service.

The lab provides a vast array of tests in-house, for quick and accurate results.

The lab at Orange City Area Health System is open Monday-Friday from 7:30am to 5pm.
Open Saturday by Appointment only, 8am-noon. Call the Patient Appointment Center for scheduling: 712-737-5380.
   



About Our Laboratory

For many people the word la-BOR-a-tory conjures up images of mad scientists and sinister hunchbacks with bubbling potions and petri dishes filled with funky organisms. Well, that may be true in science fiction, but in the science of healthcare the Lab and its professionals are anything but mad.

Our laboratory may be located out of sight, but when it comes to the services it provides our medical providers and ultimately our patients, it’s anything but out of mind.

“Our providers have an expectation of fast, accurate results,” says OCAHS lab manager Donna Morehead, “We are a vital link in helping the provider make a diagnosis.”

Donna explains: “Your blood is the inside picture of what’s going on in your body. Two people can walk into our clinic or ER with the same symptoms, and it will be a blood analysis that will determine what’s going on and how to treat them.”

And blood is a big part of what this team does – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. From the “draw room” medical assistants to the lab’s medical technologists, these valued employees are on call 24/7 and are competent in all disciplines, which are …

  • Hematology: blood analysis – infections, anemia.
  • Chemistry: cardiac panels, PSA tests, lipids, glucose – this is the largest volume of tests done here, according to Donna.
  • Urinalysis: the chemical composition of urine (e.g. proteins, sugar).
  • Microbiology: the diagnosis of causative agents – the microbes/organisms that are causing an infection (like e.coli, MRSA, “super bugs”).
  • Blood Bank: the lab keeps 40 units of blood on hand from the Siouxland Blood Bank – they type and store the blood for patient transfusions.

All together, our lab performs a whopping 200,000 tests annually!

So what makes this laboratory team successful? 

“We’re fortunate to have little turnover compared to many hospitals,” says Donna. “I think it’s because we get great support from administration, we have a wonderful new facility, and our core values keep us working together as a team.”

That teamwork is critical with the kind of demanding schedule the lab techs have. According to Donna, everyone shares in “call” responsibility and helps each other out with scheduling needs. “It’s a great group of people who are very self-sacrificing and willing to be flexible,” she reports.

Not the blood-thirsty eccentric scientists of popular fiction. But definitely popular and vital members of our medical team.