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. 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. They care for patients every day, performing and interpreting tests that save lives and keep people healthy. The laboratory test results drive a significant portion of clinical decisions, from diagnosis to therapy, with the ultimate goal of providing excellent patient care.

Medical laboratory teams are the cornerstone of accurate diagnoses for patients. In fact, 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. Also, laboratory professionals are part of the team to guide and assess patients’ ongoing treatment and care.

One way that Americans can celebrate this week is to renew their commitment to good health and schedule a health screening test or blood donation.

Centra Southside Community Hospital recognizes the medical laboratory professionals who help detect and prevent disease, monitor treatments, and deliver great care to its patients.