National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is an annual celebration of the laboratory professionals and pathologists “who play a vital role in every aspect of health care,” according to a press release from Centra Southside Community Hospital. “Since they often work behind the scenes, few people fully understand all that goes into the critical testing they perform every day. National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is dedicated to celebrating the life-saving contributions of more than 300,000 medical laboratory professionals. The laboratory test results drive a significant portion of clinical decisions, from diagnosis to therapy, with the ultimate goal of providing excellent patient care.”

According to the release, test results comprise approximately 70 percent of a patient’s medical record today. “Whether it’s a routine health screen, cancer diagnosis or blood donation, medical laboratory professionals care for patients in small communities and metropolitan areas across the nation.”

“Using state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation, laboratory professionals perform and supervise tests that lead to the detection of potential health problems; the sooner a disease is caught, the better the outcome.”

Laboratory professionals are part of the team to guide and assess patients’ ongoing treatment and care, hospital officials said in the release.

“Centra Southside Community Hospital would like to recognize the medical laboratory professionals who help detect and prevent disease, monitor treatments, and deliver great care to our patients,” Centra officials said.