CLMA-SAFMLS MEMBERSHIP INFO

SAFMLS is currently partnered with the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) and offers a CLMA/SAFMLS bundled membership for $50 annually. The membership renewals are now due in January each year. The membership period is from January - December. Lastly, if you want a discount on registration for KnowledgeLab 2020, you must be an active member prior to registration to the conference.

Please CLICK HERE to apply for a new membership or renew last year’s membership.

1 Upcoming Event

SAFMLS/CLMA KnowedgeLab Annual 2020 Meeting

Say What? CLMA KnowledgeLab Annual Meeting

Say Where? KICC it in Louisville, KY or the Kentucky International Convention Center 221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202

Say When? CLMA KnowledgeLab: 1300, Sunday, March 29, 2020 to 1800, Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Say How? Get funded through your local channels, let your supervisor know about this not to be missed event with lots of exciting changes going on.

Information

Conference approval and funding information:

Each Service and DoD Organization has its own policies on this so speak to your supervisor. What we know currently—there is no central funding available each organization funds staff based on their organization

Conference Approval:

ARMY: “Non-DoD conferences per AR 1-50, paragraph 2-7, GOs, SES members, and 0-6/GS-15 Commanders of Army medical centers and community hospitals may approve funded attendance for non-DoD conferences with total costs under $1OOK, and fewer than 50 Army attendees within their purview. A list of 0-6/GS-15 Commanders of MEDCOM Military Treatment Facilities (MTF} with conference approval authority is on the Office of the Administrative Assistant (OAA} Conferences home page. No other MTF Commanders are authorized conference approval authority.”

NAVY: Requires a conference packet which was submitted and approved-letter was provided to attendees

AF: none required as it is under the amount

DHA: none required as it is under the amount

REGISTRATION:

Register now and pay later once your travel is approved—Yeah!

Early Registration Rate of $599 for SAFMLS Members expires 2/28/2020 After 2/28/2020 the Standard Registration Rate of $650 applies In order to get the member rate you will have to be a member or you can sign up for the nonmember rate.

Membership dues are not reimbursable as they are a personal membership and not required. Currently the membership dues are $50 per year for a joint CLMA and SAFMLS membership. More information about SAFMLS is in the SAFMLS section.

Here’s the link to register for the conference https://www.clma.org/knowledgelab

FLIGHT: Nearest airport: Louisville International Airport (Airport code is SDF)

Hotel Reservation:

Per diem rate in Louisville, KY is $138/night The conference is at the Kentucky International Convention Center at 221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202. There are two hotels used by CLMA for the event, each with a limited block of government per diem rate rooms:

CLMA SAFMLS Per diem rate rooms: Louisville Marriott Downtown 280 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 627-5045

To reserve the block of rooms at the Marriott set up from CLMA use the link below. There are a limited number of per diem rate rooms at the Marriott and they are going quickly.

https://book.passkey.com/event/50011728/owner/18553/home

Hyatt Regency Louisville 320 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 581-1234 Hyatt government rates are already filled up but we are negotiating to provide more rooms.

Once these are gone you will have to pay the conference room rate which is $209 or stay somewhere else with the government per diem room rate.

If you are staying until Thursday morning please NOTE: We are working with CLMA to extend the reservation day to Thursday, April 2, 2020. If you made reservation and won’t be attending please let others know so they can assume your reservation with the per diem rate.

Remember you can always book the hotel with your travel card and cancel the reservation before you are charged a fee, in case you do not get orders. If you miss out on the block of government per diem rate rooms you can always look for hotels that offer per diem in the area within walking distance.

Here is information on how to book a government rate room through DTS near the KICC.

Resort Parking:

Cowger Garage is located at 4th & Market Street (directly next to Z’s Fusion Restaurant). Commonwealth Garage is located on Jefferson Street (middle of block on left hand side) between 3rd & 4th Streets and connected to Hyatt Regency. Parking is based on an hourly rate. Click here for more information: https://kyconvention.com/maps-parking

Airport to Hotel transport: There are NO hotel shuttles from the airport to the designated two hotels (Marriott and Hyatt). You can use the shuttle below or taxi, etc.

Airport Shuttle Transportation Discount: Miller Transportation is offering a discounted rate for KnowledgeLab attendees to use when traveling to and from the airport. To take advantage of this discount, follow the steps included below.

  • Visit https://www.millerblack.com/
  • Log in using the username KnowledgeLab2020 and password Miller10.
  • Create a new reservation and your personal information and flight details.
  • Use promo code Miller10 when prompted

Kentucky and Hotel Tax Exempt sheet: can be found by CLICKING HERE

  • Please present this form when you check in to the conference center.

Uniform:

  • Civilians: Business casual for all participants and Business attire if presenting;
  • Military: Class Bs for all attendees and ASUs for presenters;
  • Navy Service Working Uniform (Khakis) for participants and for the CLMS/Navy Breakout;
  • Presenters for CLMA KnowledgeLab, Service Dress Blues with ribbons and name tag
  • Don’t forget covers/headgear!

TENTATIVE SCHEDULES:

Conduct:

This is a professional conference with professionals. This is a great time to have fun, network with others, and discover best practices in our field. Since this is a professional event, please remember to always act appropriately both in and out of uniform. You are a representation of yourself, your unit, and your Service, act appropriately at all times. The conference is your place of duty if you are TDY not the derby races or fill in the blank place. Don’t forget drinking in uniform is not allowed at this event and it is best to wear civilian casual business attire to the social events; not a uniform. So please change out of your uniform before going out to the CLMA social activities. Don’t forget a three star General will be attending the event so please be present for his Key Note speech and be prepared to sing the Service songs.

MAJ Melissa Baltazar, USA

2 SAFMLS Officials

2.1 Board of Directors

President: Colonel Mikal L. Stoner, USA

Vice-President: Maj Mark Lisanby, USAF

Treasurer: CPT James Lehman, USA

Secretary: Capt Amy Bogue, USAF

2.2 Members-at-Large

CPT Olga Terekhina, USA

CPT Sascha F. Jung, USA

SFC Christopher Soto, USA

LDCR Syed Husain, USN

Lt Tammy Nguyen, USN

Capt Alex Hastings, USAF

Capt Jamie Olguin, USAF

2.3 Ex-Oofficio Members

COL Eva Calero, USA

COL Karen Burmeister, USA

CDR Todd Tetreault, USN

COL, Dan Bessemer, USAF

LtCol, Angel Hudson, USAF

CDR Arash Mohtashamian, USN

Col Donald Trummel, USAF

2.4 Additional Key Board Members

Web Master: CPT Jason Reeves, USA

Scope Editor: LTC Tony Pierson, USA

Scope Publisher: CPT Jason Reeves, USA

3 President’s Message

TBD

Colonel Mikal L. Stoner, USA

4 Editor’s Corner

LTC Tony Pierson, USA

Here ye Here ye! This is the call for submission of articles to the Society Scope! We know that there are incredibly talented laboratorians in the military medical field and we want to hear from you. The Society Scope is a great way to show off the talent of you and your staff as well as raise important laboratory issues within our community. Your peers, consultants and your leaders all read the Scope…because they too are members of SAFMLS! SAFMLS is continuing to grow, especially now that we have partnered with CLMA, this provides a wider audience within the laboratory community. Publishing an article is an excellent way to stand apart from your peers and spotlight the accomplishments and leadership involvement in the laboratory.

The articles we seek do not have to be research in nature. If you look through our PREVIOUS PUBLICATIONS, you will see we have articles about regulatory compliance, career corner, clinical applications and leadership development, for example. You can send us an overview of your experience from deployment or a spotlight of an event from your current hospital. We love those pictures!

There is no length format. If you have published your article in another publication, we can reprint as long as you request permission from the original publication. Don’t forget that any article you submit for publication must be approved by your unit/base public affairs office. It is a fairly simple process with far reaching impact. Showcasing the hard work and accomplishments both at your home base and downrange is a great way to keep the SAFMLS organization growing and expanding.

So put those writing skills to test! We need to know what is taking place with you and at your unit.

5 Submitted Articles

5.1 Maj Raines

Pediatric Reference Intervals in Routine Laboratory Practice

Written by Matthew Raines, MD DABP, Major, Medical Corps, US Air Force

The College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) All Common checklist for the chemistry section requires all patient results to be reported with reference ranges. This insures that health care providers can review results compared to the (usually) normal population, as measured on the same analytical platform, in order to establish a diagnosis of wellness or disease.

The process for establishing or adopting reference ranges for adult populations is well-documented elsewhere. Pediatric reference ranges, on the other hand, are more complicated. Pediatric and adult physiology differ, and results can vary with age, analyte, and sometimes sex. Instead of establishing a single reference range per analyte (as with adults), up to 18 total ranges may be established for a single analyte when considering incremental age ranges (up to 18) and sex. However, many laboratories do not receive enough pediatric samples within each age interval to statistically power each reference range. Additionally, there is sensitivity regarding multiple unnecessary blood draws of the pediatric population.

When it is not feasible to perform reference ranges in-house due to sample number limitations, it may be acceptable to adopt reference ranges from studies performed by the manufacturer or otherwise published in the literature. Searching the literature for each analyte, one-by-one, and comparing the analytical platform to that employed in one’s own lab, can prove laborious. To address this task, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) published Pediatric Reference Intervals (previously Pediatric Reference Ranges), which provides tables of analytes with pediatric reference ranges, platforms utilized, and study references.

In an attempt to provide the most relevant information to providers, an ad-hoc laboratory information system (LIS) report identified the tests most frequently ordered for pediatric patients. LIS test files were also reviewed to identify which (if any) pediatric reference ranges were provided. This guided inclusion of a comprehensive chemistry panel, a coagulation panel, a lipid panel, and an iron panel in the provider handout.

My next task was to compile missing reference ranges. Our laboratory utilizes a Siemens Vista for chemistry and a Stago STA Compact for coagulation studies. A search of reagent inserts and the published literature revealed few, if any pediatric reference ranges established on these models. The above-mentioned text, however, provided extensive tables of reference ranges performed on precursor instruments (Dimension RxL and STA-R, respectively). A review of manufacturer reagent inserts was performed to insure uniformity between previous and current platforms.

Following these steps, the below tables represent what our laboratory has adopted as pediatric reference ranges. A useful (and even more verifiable) future step would be the publication of reference ranges by large-volume pediatric facilities on the most current analytical platforms. I hope this article proves useful to medical directors, laboratory officers, and/or technical supervisors facing the questions of whether to and how to issue pediatric reference ranges.

NOTES

- * Values given in this table were obtained from published studies performed on the Dimension RxL, the precursor to the current analytical platform in use at JBER Lab. Pediatric Reference Intervals, 7th ed. Washington, DC: AACC Press, 2011

- ** Values given in this table were obtained from published studies performed on the Stago STA-R, the precursor to the current analytical platform in use at JBER. Flanders MM, et al. Pediatric reference intervals for ten coagulation assays. Blood 2004;104:2988.

- Abbreviations: ALK (alkaline phosphatase), ALT (alanine aminotransferase), aPTT (partial thromboplastin time), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), BUN (blood urea nitrogen), CK (creatine kinase), CO2 (carbon dioxide), CRP (C-reactive protein), HDL-C (HDL cholesterol), LDL-C (LDL cholesterol), PT (prothrombin time), TIBC (total iron-binding capacity)

5.2 CPT Gonzales

Good News Stories

Written by CPT Eric Gonzales

Master of Ceremony 1LT Eric Gonzales provides opening remarks during USAMRD-G’s celebration of WRAIR’s 125th Anniversary of military relevant research.

Distinguished guests and visitors watch a video highlighting WRAIR’s history and accomplishments over the past 125 years.

Pictured from left to right: COL Mark Carder, Dr. Amiran Gamkrelidze, Amb. Ross Wilson, and COL Paul Kwon end the celebration with the cutting of the cake ceremony.

USAMRD-G Celebrates WRAIR’s 125th Anniversary

TBILISI, Georgia-On 17 December 2018, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) celebrated 125 years of biomedical research in an event hosted by its laboratory the United States Army Medical Research Directorate -Georgia (USAMRD-G) at the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health. Coordinated by 1LT Eric Gonzales, the 125th Anniversary event included an exhibition of posters showcasing research from USAMRD-G followed by keynote speakers, Ambassador Ross Wilson, U.S. Embassy Tbilisi, Georgia, Dr. Amiran Gamkrelidze, National Center for Disease Control-Georgia, Director General, and COL Mark Carder, WRAIR Deputy Commander. The event, attended by representatives from WRAIR, NCDC, U.S. CDC, San Diego State University-Georgia, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi State Medical University, and Georgian Ministries of Defense, Agriculture, Health, and Education and Science commemorated the many accomplishments in medical research achieved across WRAIR’s history in addition to the young but growing relationship between the governments of the United States and Georgia. The purpose of the event was to improve understanding of WRAIR and USAMRD-G’s mission as well as to solidify and promote bilateral host nation partnerships in research.

WRAIR was originally founded as the Army Medical School in 1893. In the ensuing decades, WRAIR has made and contributed to many advancements for both Soldier health and World health. WRAIR is the largest biomedical research laboratory in the U.S. Department of Defense, with laboratories around the world performing infectious disease and brain health research.

Established in 2014, USAMRD-G is WRAIR’s newest overseas laboratory executing the mission of epidemiological research into endemic and antimicrobial infections to inform global health security efforts. USAMRD-G partners with Georgian universities to develop the new generation of Georgian doctors and scientist and to build Georgian medical and research capacity. Furthermore, USAMRD-G provides support to U.S. and allied forces deployed within U.S. European Command.

As part of Quality Schools International-Tbilisi’s annual career day, CPT Eric Gonzales, a 71E Clinical Laboratory Scientist, discusses with middle and high school students about a career in clinical laboratory sciences.

Pictured from left to right: Jason Martin (QSI-T), Marika Zakareishvili (MoES), and CPT Eric Gonzales (USAMRD-G)

Marika Zakareishvili, Head of Adult Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia speaks to high school students of Quality Schools International-Tbilisi.

USAMRD-G Partners with Georgian Ministry of Education and Science During Local School’s Career Day

TBILISI, Georgia-25 April 2019, Quality Schools International-Tbilisi (QSI-T) hosted their annual Career Day to expose over 150 middle and high school students to a variety of future career options. QSI-T is an international school located in Tbilisi, Georgia, composed of students from over 40 different countries around the world. Coordinated by CPT Eric Gonzales of the United States Army Medical Research Directorate -Georgia (USAMRD-G) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, volunteered to speak to students of QSI-T. In addition, Marika Zakareishvili, Head of Adult Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia discussed with students about careers in education and policy. Jason Martin, Student Counselor for QSI-T says “Career week is designed to orient students to the opportunities and outlook for career development. The goal is to raise awareness of potential career opportunities through small group activity, explore career options through assessment, introduce the role of universities in career development, and interact with adults from various career paths.” The students enjoyed themselves, as was evidence by their enthusiastic questions, smiles and laughter. At the end of the day, the students had a good time, and they learned not only about opportunities within the United States but within Georgia as well. USAMRD-G remains committed to building bilateral host nation partnerships in order to develop the next generation of Georgian doctors and scientist and to build Georgian medical and research capacity.

Dr. Natalia Kiknadze of the U.S. Embassy Health Unit observes CW2 Zamarripa, SFC Zamarripa, and 1LT Gonzales while they perform chest compressions.

Using the skills learned during the block of instruction; LTC McCown, MAJ Knight, CW2 Zamarripa, and COL Kwon alternate performing CPR and AED use.

CW2 Zamarripa, MAJ Knight, and MAJ Latif practice performing infant chest compressions.

USAMRD-G staff receives life saving CPR training

Whether you’re at home or on the battlefield, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a key and valuable skill to know. The American Heart Association estimates 90,000 lives are saved each year because of CPR. Coordinated by First Lieutenant Eric Gonzales in conjunction with the United States Embassy, Tbilisi Health Unit, USAMRD-G staff were provided the opportunity to learn the necessary emergency response skills that can increase an individual’s chance of survival.

Dr. Natalia Kiknadze of the United States Embassy Health Unit provided the block of instruction to USAMRD-G staff according to the guidelines set by the American Heart Association.

USAMRD-G staff were taught the one and two person method of CPR and AED use for adults, children, and infants. Furthermore, staff were taught the Heimlich Maneuver for adults, pregnant women, children, and infants. Prior to receiving CPR certification, USAMRD-G staff’s newly acquired skills were put to the test as they were given a hands on scenario which encompassed each skill learned.

Pictured from left to right: CPT Eric Gonzales, C, Laboratory Operations, Samir Mirzakhanov, Technical Engineer, and LTC Michael McCown, Deputy Director take note of obsolete dated microbiological equipment

Group photo of Mingachevir Anti-Plague Department, DTRA and USAMRD-G staff.

The Mingachevir Anti-Plague Department laboratory currently resides in a building constructed back in the 1970s.

USAMRD-G Personnel Conduct Biosafety and Security Assessment in Mingachevir, Azerbaija

MINGACHEVIR, Azerbaijan - 23 May 2019, Organized by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), LTC Michael McCown, Deputy Director and CPT Eric Gonzales, Chief, Laboratory Operations and Biosafety Officer of the United States Army Medical Research Directorate-Georgia (USAMRD-G) conducted a successful biosafety and security assessment of the Mingachevir Anti-Plague Department (APD) of the Ministry of Health biosafety level two (BSL2) laboratory in Mingachevir, Azerbaijan. The team met with Dr. Ibrahim Rzayev, Deputy Director of the APD, Dr. Esmiralda Seyidova and Technical Engineer Samir Mirzakhanov of the Republican Anti-Plague Station (RAPS). The purpose of the assessment was to provide feedback to DTRA, specifically addressing biosafety and security concerns and recommendations in order to bring the laboratory to BSL2 standards. USAMRD-G personnel assessed areas such as proper use and maintenance of equipment, availability and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and training documentation and records to name a few. The Mingachevir APD is a regional laboratory located in western Azerbaijan. The Government of Azerbaijan is interested in upgrading the laboratory to be on par with other DTRA provided resources. Mingachevir APD is one of six regional laboratories that will serve as a hub for the detection of Extremely Dangerous Pathogens (EDP). USAMRD-G remains committed to interagency partnerships and international engagements in support of the warfighters

5.3 LTC Espiritu

The US Army Reserves (USAR)

Written by LTC Maria (Chari) Espiritu, MT (ASCP, MHA, MS), Clinical Laboratory Consultant, MRTC

Soldiers from 349th CSH perform Blood Donor pre-screen at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait (Photo courtesy of MAJ Kent Yuen)

The US Army Reserve (USAR) clinical laboratory officers and soldiers (Lab) are in the forefront of the Health Service Support and Force Health Protection and have been an integral part of our mobilization and deployment to several Areas of Operations (AO). Currently, lab personnel from 349th Combat Support Hospital (CSH) and the 379th Blood Support Detachment (BSD) are deployed in the CENTCOM AO as part of Joint Task Force -Medical (JTFMED) which includes USAR personnel from 3rd Medical Command Deployment Support (3MCDS). Reserve Lab personnel from Army, Air Force and Navy are currently mobilized in several medical treatment facilities (MTFs) and Blood Donor Centers (BDCs) throughout the US and OCONUS. Several Reserve personnel also work as civilian employees in DOD facilities.

The majority of Reserve clinical laboratory personnel work in clinical laboratories in civilian and government hospitals, reference labs, research laboratories, laboratory vendors and blood donor centers. These personnel work in different laboratory sections, including administration. This civilian-acquired experience is an integral part of the effectiveness of our Reserve laboratorians in providing high-quality health service support in deployed and mobilized environments.

How do we sustain the Reserve clinical laboratory personnel training? In the forefront of medical readiness and pre-deployment training is the Medical Readiness and Training Command (MRTC) based in San Antonio, TX. MRTC has led medical collective training not just for the Army Reserve, but for Active, Reserve, and National Guard units of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. There are three MRTC Regional Training sites (RTSMED) that provide sustainment training for clinical laboratory and Blood management operations for MTOE and TDA units.

Several exercises are conducted every year to prepare these medical units and the laboratory personnel for deployment. These units includes the Combat Support Hospital (CSH) and Field Hospital (FH), as well as the Blood Support Detachments. These training exercises include Warrior Exercise (WAREX) - an externally evaluated tactical-while-technical training event for most of the T/R2(training year) units prior to entering the T/R (training year) 3 year. WAREX is the first externally evaluated collective venue for USAR units where the exercise focuses on multi-echelon training events. The medical staff are required to perform critical collective tasks using current mission command systems (MCSs). GLOBAL MEDIC (GM) Exercise, the US Air Force Patriot Warrior Exercise and the US Navy Northern Lights Exercise are the three training events that provide campaign quality, Joint-Accredited, multi-national field medical exercise programs focusing on challenging and developing joint medical units to deliver synchronized expeditionary healthcare to meet the combatant commanders’ requirements in a complex operational environment (OE). This training exercise is linked with the Army Reserve Combat Support Training Program (CSTP).

The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the clinical laboratory and the Blood Support areas are uniform throughout the DOD. This means that the Reserve component uses the same training guidelines provided to Active component (AC) personnel. Laboratory officers and soldiers from Reserve medical units interact with the AC and each other through Milsuite and planning conferences. Lessons learned from the Army Center for Lessons Learned (CALL), the Army Center for Medical Excellence (CoME), and the Armed Services Blood Program Office (ASBPO) also provide information to support learning and SOP development and sustainment. Reserve Lab personnel are active members of several Laboratory affiliations including the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), Advanced Sensing, Computation and Control (ASCC), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) and the Society of American Federal Medical Laboratory Scientists (SAFMLS).

  *This article highlights the support of the Reserves components in the current operational environments and provides an introduction on sustainment and collective training for the Reserves components clinical laboratory personnel.

6 Advertiser Information

Advertising rates:

  • Full page ad = $400
  • 1/2 page ad= $200
  • 1/4 page ad= $100

Ads should be sent to: LTC Tony Pierson, USA, scope@safmls.org

7 ASCP BOC

The Medical Laboratory Assistant, MLA(ASCP) certification is bringing an enhanced level of professionalism and providing laboratory managers and directors a more complete offering of certification options for their laboratory staff.

By earning an MLA credential from the ASCP Board of Certification, laboratory assistants demonstrate their competence to carry out their responsibilities and bring a higher degree of respect to both themselves and their labs. Formal certification serves as a symbol of the individual’s and laboratory’s commitment to the highest standards of the profession and to quality patient care.

Long considered the “Gold Standard,” ASCP BOC certification is sought out by seven times as many laboratory professionals as any other lab professional credentialing organization.