Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Cache

Health.mil has undergone a recent update. For the best user experience we recommend clearing your browser cache.

Lab Professionals Play Key Role in Public Health and Patient Care

Image of Lab Professionals Play Key Role in Public Health and Patient Care. U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick W. Kennedy is a lab officer and chief of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. He also serves as a consultant for the U.S. Air Force surgeon general’s laboratory medicine and chief for lab with Biomedical Associate Corps. Kennedy looks forward to mentoring the next generation. (Photo: Tanisha Blaise)

The Defense Health Agency celebrated Medical Laboratory Professionals Week from April 23-29, 2023.

--

Medical laboratory professionals work at all levels within the U.S. Department of Defense to help identify and diagnose various health threats that may impact our forces.

“Medical laboratory scientists are health care detectives working on the front lines to provide critical information for health care providers,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick Kennedy, chief of DHA’s Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division.

“In garrison, we use state-of-the-art instrumentation and scientific methods to provide accurate and timely diagnostics to analyze all types of body fluids," added Kennedy. In addition to his role at AFHSD, Kennedy performs two additional duties for Air Force as the Air Force Surgeon General Consultant for Laboratory and Biomedical Associate Corps Chief for Laboratory.

Lab professionals serve in various positions throughout the DOD—in military hospitals and clinics’ laboratories to diagnose disease, in research organizations searching for new ways to detect and treat disease, and as policy developers at DOD level,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Warren Conrow, director of the center for laboratory medicine services at DHA.

“We also staff donor centers and transfusion centers to ensure a lifeline of blood products; we partner with our public health partners to provide disease surveillance; we serve as executive officers, commanders, and even as directors,” he added.

“Lab analysis is critical to 80% of any medical diagnosis, and our ability to test enables leaders to make force health protection decisions (in garrison and deployed),” said Kennedy.

Conrow agreed, “The lab protects the warfighter and our military community by providing the right diagnostic information (accurate and safe lab and pathology results), performed by the right people, using the right testing guidelines, at the right time.”

Future advances for lab professionals include developments in transfusion medicine in a deployed environment to reduce casualties. Lab-supporting trauma surgery with advances in blood banking, such as low tier type O whole blood, has decreased casualty rates significantly in war zones.

You also may be interested in...

Photo
May 27, 2022

Walter Reed Service Dogs

Luke is a German Shephard facility dog.

Luke, a German Shepherd facility dog at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, stays with wounded warrior Heath Calhoun at the Military Advanced Treatment Center facility while Calhoun undergoes rehab therapy. Luke is officially a Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class.

Photo
Feb 11, 2022

Heart Attacks Infographic

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack can differ between women and men. If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 quickly.

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack can differ between women and men. If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 quickly.

Photo
Jul 26, 2017

No Patient Left Behind

Army Col. Rich Wilson (left) moderates a panel discussion with current and former program managers from the Defense Health Agency's Solution Delivery Division. The panel, titled No Patient Left Behind: Leveraging Partnerships for Change, discussed the importance of supporting patient care during modernization as the MHS transitions legacy applications to new systems. Focusing on enterprise planning, patient risk mitigation, and the balance of investment, the panel discussed the importance of positive government and vendor relationships and ways to apply past experiences to build strategies for success in the future.

Army Col. Rich Wilson (left) moderates a panel discussion with current and former program managers from the Defense Health Agency's Solution Delivery Division. The panel, titled No Patient Left Behind: Leveraging Partnerships for Change, discussed the importance of supporting patient care during modernization as the MHS transitions legacy applications ...

Photo
Dec 21, 2016

Drive-Thru Flu Shots

Medical staff at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, immunized nearly 1,200 people recently with their drive-through flu vaccination event. (U.S. Army photo by John Corley)

Medical staff at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, immunized nearly 1,200 people recently with their drive-through flu vaccination event. (U.S. Army photo by John Corley)

Photo
Sep 30, 2016

Exiting an A-10C Thunderbolt

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Judith Bulkley, an electrical and environmental systems specialist deployed from the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., exits an A-10C Thunderbolt II after performing an external power operations check on the aircraft at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Because service members in particular are often exposed to high noise levels, hearing protection is crucial, especially with a TBI. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Stephen Schester)

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Judith Bulkley, an electrical and environmental systems specialist deployed from the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., exits an A-10C Thunderbolt II after performing an external power operations check on the aircraft at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Because service members in particular are ...

Photo
Sep 29, 2016

Sunrise Yoga Class

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Paradiso participates in a sunrise yoga class on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. If you’re thinking of adding exercise to your pain management plan, consider the following types: aerobic, strength, and flexibility. But make sure your exercise program is specifically tailored to your needs. Some exercises might be easier or more difficult to complete depending upon the type and location of your pain. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chris Liaghat)

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Paradiso participates in a sunrise yoga class on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. If you’re thinking of adding exercise to your pain management plan, consider the following types: aerobic, strength, and flexibility. But make sure your exercise program is specifically tailored to your ...

Photo
Sep 23, 2016

Healthy aging starts sooner than you think

Air Force Staff Sgt. Nick Crouse, a medical technician with the 193rd Special Operations Wing's Medical Group out of Middletown, Pennsylvania, takes the blood pressure of a patient. Heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are three ailments that take a huge toll on the body as it ages. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Air Force Staff Sgt. Nick Crouse, a medical technician with the 193rd Special Operations Wing's Medical Group out of Middletown, Pennsylvania, takes the blood pressure of a patient. Heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are three ailments that take a huge toll on the body as it ages. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Photo
Sep 22, 2016

Lt. Col. James Morrison getting adjustments to cochlear implant

Dr. Elizabeth Searing (right) makes initial adjustments via a computer to Lt. Col. James Morrison's cochlear implant. Dr. April Luxner, an audiologist with Cochlear Corporation, was on hand to witness Morrison's reactions to hearing with his right ear after 12 years of deafness. (U.S. Army photo by Jeff Troth)

Dr. Elizabeth Searing (right) makes initial adjustments via a computer to Lt. Col. James Morrison's cochlear implant. Dr. April Luxner, an audiologist with Cochlear Corporation, was on hand to witness Morrison's reactions to hearing with his right ear after 12 years of deafness. (U.S. Army photo by Jeff Troth)

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: May 03, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery