EARH Lab receives new epoc blood analysis system

During an emergency, every second counts and when East Adams Rural Hospital (EARH) receives a trauma patient in the emergency room, a simple blood test can help medical personnel determine how to treat the patient.

Time is of the essence and now with the help of a new device called the epoc Blood Analysis System, emergency workers can have blood test results in three minutes.

EARH, with help from the financial donation from the East Adams County Healthcare Foundation, purchased the epoc system in April. EARH lab manager Tara Dockery led the search for the machine to replace the previous system called I-Stat.

“The I-Stat was an older model that was becoming obsolete and was in the budget to be replaced or updated,” Dockery explained. “The epoc is a point-of-care system that will save us time and money.

“It’s the wave of the future,” she continued. “The epoc system will allow us to be more self sufficient.”

Dockery spent several months comparing similar systems from different companies and brought in three companies to give hands-on demonstrations to the EARH lab to help make the best decision for the hospital. Once the lab staff had it narrowed down to two choices, the benefits of the epoc system outweighed the competitors.

The I-Stat system is still in use at the lab for testing venous blood gases and backup chemistries. Typically, when a patient’s blood is drawn it’s placed in a centrifuge machine, which spins so the blood and plasma become separated. From there the sample is put into the Vitros 250 Chemistry analyzer and is tested.

Dockery said the system consumes a lot of lab space and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete a result.

With the epoc system, lab techs will be able to test whole blood samples, receiving results in just three minutes, a vital tool when faced with a trauma patient needing to be stabilized and transported to another hospital. The epoc system will help EARH provide the receiving facility with vital information before the patient arrives.

The epoc unit is a small, compact and portable device that can be taken to any patient whether in the hospital or the emergency room. The epoc technology handles nine different blood analysis tests in one unit. This includes two new tests that haven’t been available to the EARH lab before: Ionized Calcium and Lactic Acid.

The epoc system has a touch screen, wireless Bluetooth technology so it can communicate with the lab printer and computer system and has software updates similar to a computer, instead of having to be completely replaced down the road when it becomes outdated.

The most important trait of the epoc system is the ability to save time and money for the hospital. The epoc system will help improve the efficiency of operations and allow for patient care focus and timely clinical decisions.