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Excellence in Community Healthcare.

(334) 283-6541   

805 Friendship Road - Tallassee, Alabama 36078

Laboratory

"A Drop Away From A Healthier You"
Clinical laboratory personnel are often described as health care personnel that work “behind the scenes”. At Community Hospital our lab personnel are responsible for all phases of diagnostic testing. We collect blood specimens and perform a variety of diagnostic tests on blood and other body fluids.

Using state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation, laboratory professionals help to prevent disease by detecting unknown health problems and by aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of existing conditions by giving accurate, timely results. Results of laboratory tests often identify the presence of disease in its earliest stages, when the possibilities of a cure are greatest and when treatment is least costly. The results of these tests help physicians make critical decisions to treat patients.

Community Hospital Clinical Lab is staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week by trained laboratory professionals.

Our outpatient collection area is open from 7 am to 7pm for your clinical testing needs. For more information on our lab and outpatient specimen collection procedures please call us at 334-283-6541 and ask for the lab.

Below is a brief introduction to the departments that we do testing in and a little information about the people that work in the lab at Community Hospital.

Hematology is the study of blood.

Red blood cells are responsible for delivering oxygen to tissues throughout the body. There are 5 types of White Blood Cells: neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. White blood cells help the body fight infection. Platelets are the smallest cellular component of blood they play an important roll in the formation of blood clots and help the body stop bleeding after an injury. The hematology test most ordered by physicians is the Complete Blood Count (CBC), which gives the physician a description and count of the cells described above.

Coagulation studies that test the ability of special enzymes in blood to form a clot are also performed in the Hematology Department at our lab. These tests are useful in determining medication amounts for patients that take anti-coagulation medication such as Coumadin and Heparin.

Clinical Chemistry tests measure the amount of many substances in your blood.

Some of the substances that we test for are listed below with a brief description.

Electrolytes- promotes normal body function by helping regulate body hydration, maintaining body pH, serving as cofactors in many physiologic reactions.

Glucose- major source of energy for the body, the inability for the body to regulate glucose is the cause of diabetes.

Enzymes- proteins that are made to help biochemical reactions in the body, they often appear after damage to cells has occurred and are therefore useful in diagnosing particular diseases or injuries (cardiac and liver enzymes).

Lipids- Cholesterol is the most recognized of all lipid tests. It is an important risk factor in heart disease. Other lipids that are tested and should be monitored in conjunction with cholesterol include triglyceride, HDL (high density lipoprotein or good cholesterol), and LDL (low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol).

Blood Bank

Testing services provided by the Community Hospital Blood Bank include blood typing (ABO/Rh), unexpected antibody detection, and compatibility testing. Blood transfused at Community Hospital is provided by Montgomery Community Blood Bank, you can find more information on this organization by visiting Life South.

Serology

Tests in this department are performed to determine the presence and strength of antibodies in serum (the portion of blood that is left after the cells are removed) to antigens of certain disease. The antibody is what the cells of the body’s immune system make to help fight infection.

Microbiology

Clinical microbiology includes the study of Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, and Parasites. Our Microbiology department focuses on the identifying and determining sensitivity patterns of bacterial that cause disease.

The Clinical Lab Professionals at Community Hospital

Other than collecting blood, no one really sees the work that lab personnel do. The lab staff at Community Hospital takes pride in their work and we know the information that we provide makes a difference. We hope that the information presented here gives you a better understanding of which clinical laboratory personnel are and the contribution that we make to your healthcare needs at Community Hospital.

For more information about Clinical Laboratories visit the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s Website at The American Society for Clinical Pathology.



© 2017, Community Hospital, Inc.
805 Friendship Road
Tallassee, AL 36078
P: (334) 283-6541