St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce receipt of $1,400 in grant funding from the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce for a centrifuge for the Laboratory.
“A centrifuge is used to separate blood cells from plasma cells,” explained Jody Flynn, St. Luke’s Hospital Laboratory Director. “The role of a centrifuge in testing blood is to separate whole blood into its various components. Each component of blood has a specific use in the body and therefore a different test may be required for each component. This centrifuge is being used to decrease the turn-around-time for blood tests that checks blood thinner medications and potential clotting disorders in a timelier manner. This is extremely important when it comes to patients who may need emergency surgery and the surgeon needs to know if the patient will clot normally. This centrifuge has decreased our centrifugation process from 10 minutes down to 3 minutes and every minute counts in a bleeding emergency.”
The generous support of the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce and the availability of a new centrifuge for St. Luke’s Hospital’s lab will ensure more accurate and efficient laboratory tests and add significantly to our efforts to improve the patient’s experience and further help us to accomplish our goal of exceptional care close to home.

— article submitted
by Jennifer Wilson