VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network

VISN 6 Director DeAnne Seekins is pictured, with another clinical lab opening guest, viewing blood platelets through a microscope, while Salisbury VAHCS Director Joe Vaughn looks on. Photo by Luke Thompson

Salisbury VA Health Care System celebrated its brand new clinical laboratory and expanded Intensive Care Unit with a ribbon-cutting ceremony August 8.

The clinical laboratory provides significantly more space for the diagnostic lab services, including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, blood banking, microbiology and anatomic pathology, was previously housed in the original 1953 main building on the second floor. The new ICU doubles the old ICU’s capacity for a total of 10 beds, all in private rooms, with two specialized isolation rooms for added clinical safety.

 

 

Salisbury VAHCS Intensive Care Unit Director Dr. Ravi Agarwala shows off one of the new patient care rooms to visitors. Photo by Luke Thompson

Salisbury VAHCS Director Joseph Vaughn declared that, “Not only do these projects address each of VA’s top five priorities, involving greater access to medical care and allowing Veterans to choose where they receive that care, timeliness, modernization, focused resources, and suicide prevention, they do it in ways that protect Veterans and make their experiences very personal. Their awareness of facilities like this will encourage them to continue to choose VA.”

Vaughn said, “By having the new state of the art equipment lab, we can deliver test results more timely. Where it used to take a few days to get results back, we can now complete the process in about an hour and a half to get a diagnosis and start appropriate treatment.”

 He continued, saying the enhanced efficiency is testament to VA’s efforts addressing modernization, timeliness and access.  The Salisbury VA Health Care System treats over 89,000 Veterans annually through more than 1.2 million health care encounters and more than 75,000 bed days of care.

Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6) Director DeAnne Seekins explained, “This new capability demonstrates the reasons we are all here: This is state of the art; not just because it improves our timeliness, but the accuracy of the equipment enables our staff to truly provide our Veterans with the best possible care, anywhere.”

For further information about VA services visit www.explore.va.gov or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VASalisbury.