Valley Regional Hospital Foundation recently visited the inner workings of Lab Services — and is it ever a busy and critical department at our regional hospital!

Besides running all the bloodwork, swab and tissue analysis for both patients and outpatients at Valley Regional, the lab also does all histology results for Western Zone (Kings County, Lunenburg County, Annapolis County, Digby County, Queens County, Shelburne County and Yarmouth County).

With your donation, the Foundation recently purchased new equipment that was needed to replace aging pieces as well as to help keep up with the demand:

• A new Biological Safety Cabinet that allows three layers of protection to the staff through filtered and recirculating HEPA air to aid in the sampling of biohazardous aerosols. This keeps staff and the hospital safe from containments.

• A Microscope that allows technologists to screen sample slides for quality and proper staining before being sent to the pathologist. Correcting issues early in the process expedites results for patients in the Western Zone.

• And third, a Microscope that will increase the volume, complexity, and accuracy of Microbiology samples. This results in an increased turnaround time of preliminary reporting to the healthcare providers, for antimicrobial treatment and shorter hospitalization stays.

THANK YOU, Annapolis Valley, for your support. These upgrades continue to upgrade our hospital, keep healthcare close to home, and support the staff and patients in hospital.