Medical Laboratory Week is April 23-29: VMH Lab offers walk-in wellness testing to the community
Offering a wide variety of wellness and other testing ... April 23-29 is National Laboratory Week. The Veterans Memorial Hospital Lab Team (pictured in the two surrounding photos) continues to offer community wellness testing at a low upfront cost, to help accommodate individuals that may forgo these important tests due to the cost of high health insurance premiums and deductibles. Veterans Memorial Hospital Laboratory is open in the very early morning for convenience for those needing fasting labs, allowing them to be completed before work. Patients are encouraged to ask their provider if their labs can be drawn and tested locally for their own convenience even when seeing a specialist out of town. Submitted photo.
The Veterans Memorial Hospital Laboratory continues to provide community wellness testing at a low upfront cost, offering this service to help accommodate individuals that may forgo important tests due to the cost of high health insurance premiums and deductibles. Individuals can select from a menu of wellness tests during select hours. While these tests do not take the place of regular medical care, they are a tool for patients to monitor their own health and wellness.
Anyone can call the Lab to set up an appointment. Appointments are available between the hours of 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Friday. A physician’s order is not required for these tests. Results are then mailed to the individual within five business days.
The following blood tests are offered at a low, individual, out-of-pocket rate: Cholesterol, Blood Sugar/Diabetes, Thyroid, Kidney Function, Uric Acid, Hemoglobin, Calcium, Liver Function, Vitamin D, Prostate Health, Potassium and Sodium.
Anyone with a scheduled appointment will enter Veterans Memorial Hospital’s main entrance and stop at the reception desk to register. The receptionist will provide a Community Wellness form. Individuals can then choose the test option(s) they would like to have performed. The fee will be taken at that time, and then the blood draw will be performed in the Lab. The results will be mailed to the individual to share with their medical provider if they wish.
The Veterans Memorial Hospital Laboratory has the ability to draw and locally run many of the lab tests regularly ordered by physicians. If a test is ordered that can’t be run at the local hospital, the Lab can draw the blood and send the sample for more advanced testing, saving the patient valuable time and money. INR testing can also be completed by the hospital’s Lab.
Medical specialists out of town often require blood work prior to a patient’s next appointment and just automatically refer their own laboratory for the test. Sometimes that can require another day of travel or make the day of an appointment very long. Veterans Memorial Hospital can run those tests locally and send the results electronically to the specialist the same day that the blood is drawn.
Patients are encouraged to ask their provider if their labs can be drawn and tested locally for their own convenience. For more information, call the Laboratory at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
