Accurate, timely diagnostic information for excellence in patient care

The highly-trained, specialized staff of Hurley Medical Center’s Laboratory Services team epitomize the mission of Hurley Medical Center: "Clinical Excellence. Service to People."

The highest level of medical treatment possible

Our experience, medical knowledge and technical expertise, our commitment to and investment in education, and our state-of-the-art laboratory facility have made us leaders in the delivery of diagnostic services. For our physician and medical colleagues, this means that they can provide the highest level of medical treatment possible. For our patients, this means a faster return to health and the ability to manage chronic conditions more effectively.

Comprehensive, state-of-the-art laboratory services 

We provide the full spectrum of testing and analysis services, including core laboratory work in areas such as chemistry, blood bank, hematology, urinalysis and microbiology, as well as clinical diagnostic work in transfusion medicine, immunology, immunochemistry, molecular diagnostics and special chemistry. Our anatomic pathology services include surgical diagnostics, autopsy, microbiology and cytology.

Much of our analysis work is done at the Hurley Medical Center Laboratory at the main hospital site. We also have satellite locations  in clinics and offices throughout Genesee County, and have phlebotomy stations placed strategically throughout Hurley Medical Center and the community for easy access by hospital personnel.

Our Team

The Laboratory Services staff includes four board-certified pathologists, all of whom hold post-graduate degrees in diagnostics or pathology in addition to their medical degrees. Our pathologists provide higher-level, complex diagnostic services in clinical and anatomic pathology, and work closely with physicians from all of the departments at Hurley Medical Center. On unique consults, we also collaborate with faculty from the University of Michigan.

The Laboratory Services team consists of nearly 100 experienced medical technologists and technicians, supplemented by outreach staff and courier services. The unique design of the laboratory, with its all-in-one automated track, means that our staff works side-by-side. This close interaction—and the high level of tenure within the team—facilitates efficiencies and accurate analyses, significantly decreasing opportunities for error and enabling us to provide precise test results to physicians and their patients more quickly. We also have a relationship with Warde Laboratories and use their services for certain types of testing.

Research and Education

Our pathologists are actively involved in research activities and clinical trials at Hurley Medical Center and in concert with other healthcare and educational institutions in the area and internationally. For example, one of our pathologists recently received an award in India for work that has benefited numerous patients in that country. In addition to helping increase medical knowledge generally, the results of these research activities are often applied to our pathology services at Hurley, further augmenting our ability to provide comprehensive, effective patient care.

We are committed to helping educate the next generation of medical professionals. Our pathologists are actively involved in the teaching of medical students, and we serve as a primary skill center for students serving rotations on various units at Hurley Medical Center.

The Hurley Medical Center Laboratory provides a clinical practicum to six to eight medical technology students each year through its NAACLS-accredited School of Medical Technology. The school has been in operation for over 60 years and is one of only four hospital-based programs in the state of Michigan. The 10-month program is open to students who hold bachelors-level degrees and have a strong background in biology, chemistry and mathematics.

Our teaching and mentoring activities not only benefit the students in the program, they benefit the laboratory staff and Hurley’s patients. Our staff medical technologists and technicians must be well versed in the latest developments in order to share this knowledge with our students. Student questions also require us to examine our own assumptions and procedures, and provide opportunities to further refine our methodologies.

Many of our students are subsequently hired to work in our laboratory at Hurley Medical Center. Not only does this minimize the time necessary for new hires to get up to speed on laboratory procedures, it addresses a major national healthcare issue: the lack of qualified medical technologists. Unlike many other hospitals and laboratories, our work with the school ensures that we have first choice among top candidates and remain fully staffed.

For more information on the School of Medical Technology, click here.

About the Laboratory

The Hurley Medical Center Laboratory is a state-of-the-art full-service clinical laboratory that performs nearly 2.7 million tests per year and has been continuously accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC; formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or JCAHO). The laboratory has occupied most of the first floor of the North Tower of the medical center since it was built in 1976.

In 2005-2006, the facility was redesigned and rebuilt to allowfor the installation of one of the largest laboratory automation systems in the country. The Siemens (formerly Bayer) automation track is 63 feet in length and accommodates a total of nine analyzers, two centrifuges and two sample managers. Tests performed by analyzers on the automation track account for 85% of all of the laboratory testing, in the specialties of chemistry, immunochemistry, hematology, coagulation and urinalysis. We provide the largest menu of testing services, in scope and in volume, available in the area.

In addition to our primary laboratory located at Hurley Medical Center, the Laboratory Service Department has nearly a dozen satellite drawing stations in clinics and offices throughout Genesee County. For a list of laboratories and our locations, please click here. Laboratory and phlebotomy stations are also placed strategically throughout Hurley Medical Center for easy access by hospital personnel.

The Laboratory Services Department is a member of the Joint Venture Hospital Laboratories (JVHL) network, comprising 120 Michigan-based hospital-affiliated laboratories. The mission of the JVHL is to improve the delivery of local services to managed care plan members and participating physicians with high-quality, convenient and efficient laboratory services.

The Laboratory Services Department takes most forms of insurance.