Students benefit from the new lab
By
Published 1-25-2008
Common lab tests are less expensive because of a recent change in laboratories by the Student Health Service (SHS). The change took place on Jan. 2. The initiative to start doing tests analyses in the Regional West Health Services laboratory in Scottsbluff, Neb., came from the SHS with one main objective - lower test prices for students.
“For the longest time we’ve been working with the Ivinson Memorial Hospital as our main lab service and wanted to explore if we could provide our lab service for a less expensive cost for students,” Joanne E. Steane, director of SHS, said. “We had a good relationship with the Ivinson Memorial Hospital, but we were able to negotiate a significant cost difference.”
Some of the tests that were considerably affected by the change include a thyroid stimulating hormone test with an original cost of $61.00, but now costs $7.50 when done through the Regional West Health Services. A complete blood had an original cost of $26.00, but now only costs $7.00 and a lipid panel that originally cost a student $47.50 now only costs $6.00.
Because the Regional West lab has been providing lab services for other hospitals in Laramie, it doesn’t charge the SHS a transportation fee. In addition to that, the Regional West lab is able to offer a discount based on the number of samples the SHS gets from students per year, according to Steane.
“Eventually, we will be able to generate the increase in volume, because we used to tell the students to go out to get the test done and then bring the results back to us to screen, and now we can do them here for the same price,” she said. Another benefit of using the new lab is turnaround.
“With pap smears, it used to take up to two weeks, now we are getting them back in three days,” Angel Callaway, licensed practical nurse (LPN)/ lab nurse at Student Health Services, said.
With the goal of offering inexpensive testing, the SHS continues using the Health Department in Cheyenne for HIV tests and providing on site strep tests, flu tests, urine tests, pregnancy tests and glucose tests to ensure instant treatment.
“We take advantage of what we can do the most effective and most cost effective for students as well,” Steane said.
Advertisements
