On Saturday, July 18, 2015, the Laboratory at Suburban Hospital took on the incredible task of going live with SCC Soft and SafeTrace Tx®—while at the same time our new Chemistry and Hematology analyzers were brought live. This major transition took months of hard work, planning, and training which clearly paid off. The changeover was not without its “bumps in the road,” but all in all everything went extremely well.
One of the most impressive aspects of this project was the teamwork of the Lab staff, as well as others from within the Johns Hopkins Healthcare System. During the go-live weekend, Suburban Lab had tremendous support from employees of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital, our instrument vendors, and IT support. The staff from the other facilities were experienced with all of the new systems and were on-site to help throughout the weekend. The Soft team from JHH was present 24 hours a day to troubleshoot problems and assist our staff transition from the old LIS to SCC Soft. The staff at Suburban are very grateful for all of the help the team members provided with learning the new software and analyzers.
There was also a great amount of support from management. Debbie Aird, the Laboratory Administrative Director, spent most of the weekend on-site which was a big comfort to everyone involved. Her homemade meals were delicious and very much appreciated during this very busy time. Al Valentine, Pathology’s Administrator, and Dr. Stanley Podlasek, our Medical Director, were in the Lab as well and were very encouraging during the transition. The Laboratory also had support from other departments within the Hospital who could relate to the “struggles of a new software system.” The Suburban Hospital Department of Nursing was kind enough to contribute lunch for the Lab employees.
This project could not have gone as smoothly without the hard work of everyone involved in bringing up the analyzers, building the software, and training employees. The success was also due to every employee in the Lab who did his or her best to learn quickly and work productively in order to provide the best patient care possible. All Suburban Hospital employees clearly reflected and upheld the values of Suburban Hospital: Compassion, Communication, Integrity, Teamwork, and Accountability.
Chris Calvelli, MT (ASCP)
Quality Assurance Coordinator
Department of Pathology
Suburban Hospital