Skilled Lab Team, Expert Partners, and Advanced Technology
We have a Skilled Lab Team
Munson laboratories are staffed by:
- Board-certified pathologists
- Medical laboratory scientists
- Medical laboratory technicians
- Histotechnicians
- Cytotechnologists
- Transcriptionists
- Laboratory assistants
- Phlebotomists
- Couriers
Each Munson Healthcare Lab is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and/or the Joint Commission, and also is certified in meeting all rigorous federal requirements of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA88). All Munson Healthcare Labs participate in regular proficiency testing.
Expert Lab Partners
Tests not performed at your local hospital or collection site are sent by courier to Munson Medical Center’s state-of-the-art automated laboratory for analysis. That means patients can have their blood drawn at a location near their home and be confident that the same team of Munson Healthcare experts will deliver timely, accurate reports and results to their health care provider.
With Mayo on the Side
Complex testing not provided within Munson Healthcare is sent to our laboratory partner, Mayo Medical Laboratories, a global reference laboratory in Rochester, Minn. We are connected with the Mayo lab electronically, with all results residing in one electronic medical record.
We Use Tomorrow’s Technology Today
Munson Healthcare Labs are equipped with some of the latest technology available in health care today to speed diagnoses and ensure treatment begins as quickly as possible.
BioFire®
Munson Medical Center is the only hospital in northern Michigan with BioFire® technology, which currently is used mostly at academic medical centers. BioFire is used at Munson Medical Center to identify specific germs in patients showing symptoms of dangerous blood infections. The machine compares the patient’s DNA in a prepared sample of the blood, spinal fluid, or respiratory fluid with the DNA of yeast, fungi, viruses, and bacteria in its data base to quickly identify a foreign organism. This greatly reduces the time it takes to make an accurate diagnosis and begin life-saving treatment.
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization – Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF)
Munson Medical Center also was one of the very first hospitals in Michigan to use new Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization – Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) technology. This technology also drastically reduces the time it takes to identify bacteria and speeds targeted, therapeutic care. Up to 48 patient specimens can be analyzed on a single slide at once, with results for all 48 reported within 60 minutes. Additionally, E. coli or Salmonella cultures that previously took three days to grow and identify are now identified in about 24 hours.