SBMF opens new lab in SJRMC
St. Joseph Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) and South Bend Medical Foundation (SBMF) formed a partnership over 90 years ago, which strives to provide patient healthcare which goes above-and-beyond what is expected. With the physical location of the hospital changing, SBMF and SJRMC sat down to determine ways to handle the growing need of specimens being processed. No longer could either facility rely on the under-the-river pneumatic tube running between the old hospital and the Foundation to get quick, reliable results. Therefore, the parties agreed that the Foundation would house a laboratory, capable of performing in-house, routine patient testing. The laboratory, which opened on December 14, 2009, is 6,387 square feet with 4,800 square feet being laboratory space and 1,600 square feet being an outpatient laboratory draw site. In addition, South Bend Medical Foundation has a pathologist on staff in the laboratory during the week.
"It has been exciting and probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone to be able to move into such a beautiful, brand new facility," said Nancy Trimboli.
The laboratory and the outpatient draw site are both located on the third floor of the Medical Office Building (MOB) which is just across the skywalk from the hospital. Patients seeking an out-patient draw site for lab testing can visit the out-patient area Monday through Friday from 7:30am until 4:00pm.