The Lewis County General Hospital in Lowville, New York, serves a population of about 27,000 people. The laboratory receives 80 to 125 patient samples a day for both clinical chemistry and immunoassay testing, and its volume is increasing by five to seven percent a year.
Like many laboratories throughout the world, the hospital recognized the need to automate because of the universal shortage of skilled laboratory technologists. "There’s a big issue with tech shortages in our area," says Michele Prince, Director of Ancillary Services. "Compounding the problem, we have several techs who may retire within the next few years. My goal was to get the lab as automated as we could because of the shortage we’re seeing."