MDNews - Central New York

UhS pathology and laboratory ServiceS Earn High Regard Near and Far The paThology and laboraTory services offered by uhs in greaTer binghamTon are gaining aTTenTion regionally, naTionally and inTernaTionally, based on The organizaTion���s repuTaTion for qualiTy and on case sTudies researched by The lab���s medical direcTor, Jagmohan sidhu, m.d. H eadquaRteRed at uHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, the Pathology and Laboratory Services Department is one of the most comprehensive hospital lab facilities in Central New York. And with extensive training in pathology on two continents and a passion for research, Dr. Sidhu has helped to extend the department���s impact far beyond Broome County. He has brought case studies before world conferences of the American and Canadian Society for Hematopathology, European Association for Haematopathology and British Lymphoma Pathology Group, presented posters at meetings of the College of American Pathologists and the American Society for Clinical Pathology, and published articles in several peer-reviewed journals. ���The leaders in the field at these conferences definitely know there���s a hospital in upstate New York that keeps coming back year after year,��� Dr. Sidhu says. ���They know the name UHS. The cases we have diagnosed and presented have put us on the world map.��� In October 2012, Dr. Sidhu and UHS Hospitals medical resident Sonia Brar, M.D., M.P.H., presented two case studies of rare lymphomas at the European Association for Haematopathology/ Society for Hematopathology���s annual world conference in Lisbon, Portugal. ���The studies were two of only 37 to be presented in the lymphoma workshop of the conference before more than 700 hematopathologists from around the world attending the annual meeting, and two of only a handful from the United States,��� Dr. Brar says. Kathy Rothemeyer, Manager of Laboratory Services at UHS Hospitals, welcomes patients to UHS��� newest laboratory facility, centrally located at UHS Vestal in the heart of Greater Binghamton. Dr. Sidhu notes: ���The cases originally came to us for flow cytometry study. One was from James Terzian, M.D., at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, and the other was from UHS Wilson. They turned out to be very rare neoplasms, and we identified them right here at UHS. The studies generated a lot of interest at the conference, and Dr. Brar and I answered many questions, as these were very complex cases and we had done some unique studies on them.��� The two rare forms of cancer ��� MATK-positive enteropathyassociated T-cell lymphoma, Type 1, and 6p25 rearranged ALK-negative anaplastic large-cell lymphoma ��� are the kinds typically diagnosed at top university medical centers in major cities. And while the UHS lab is becoming well known internationally, it maintains a high profile in upstate New York as well. Dr. Sidhu and Broome Oncology���s Ronald Harris, D.O., have been organizing a hematology/hematopathology symposium in Greater Binghamton for the past seven years, attracting renowned lecturers from the University of Rochester, Upstate Medical University, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Albany Medical Center and institutions in other parts of the country. With 19 points of access and 17 patient service centers, the UHS lab is a full-service, 24-hour-a-day operation, providing testing for inpatients and outpatients in the six-county Southern Tier of New York and adjoining counties in Northeast Pennsylvania, says Paul Engineri, Administrative Director of Pathology and Laboratory Services. ���We record more than 300,000 patient encounters a year, about 55% outpatient and 45% inpatient,��� he says. The department performs routine and esoteric tests ordered by licensed providers, with stat testing on request. All clinical and anatomic pathology disciplines are covered, including chemistry, hematology, microbiology and histology, and the department offers flow cytometry, therapeutic drug monitoring and transfusion services. The staff of 150 includes licensed clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, licensed histotechnicians and cytologists, and certified phlebotomists and medical office assistants. The department also maintains a five-person Client Services call center, where technologists and technicians resolve customer concerns

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