BMH lab supervisor shares gateway to a fulfilling career
Behind the scenes at Butler Memorial Hospital, there are numerous people across several lab divisions helping doctors, nurses and care teams make decisions about patient health and treatment plans. Theresa (Terry) Cirelli, BMH lab supervisor, oversees and manages one of those lab divisions.
“Some people know that they don't want to work with the public, but they'd like to do something in health care,” Cirelli said. “Here in the lab, you will have the most tremendous impact on a person and they'll never see you.”
“Our group generates 70% to 80% of the information that a provider, nurse, doctor or oncology needs to make a decision on what to do in a patient's care plan,” Cirelli said. “The laboratory is like the quality control center for the whole health system.”
Cirelli knew from an early age that she wanted to be in the lab and do research. Her career path has allowed for travel, learning about different parts of care networks and gaining an understanding of how communities can be affected and improved when they have access to new technology.She got her first job at age 14 working as a lab assistant and has spent over 40 years in the medical research, medical product development and laboratory sectors. This included time with the Allegheny County medical examiner as the chief histo-chemist, working as a lab supervisor for UPMC Montefiore and as a quality manager for Shandon Lipshaw (later bought out by Thermo Fisher Scientific). Cirelli was hired by Butler hospital in April 2000 as a lab supervisor.“(Butler hospital) was recruiting for a new chief pathologist at that point,” Cirelli said. “I got to be a part of that process when they were selecting and interviewing candidates. It was a good first step (for the department).”
The laboratories at Butler hospital service more than just the patients the hospital cares for on a daily basis. This outreach and inclusion have created jobs and income for the hospital. Community outreach and outreach to other medical offices became a priority in the early 2000s after Cirelli was hired.“We all recognized how important outreach work is and the importance of bringing the latest technology to the community,” Cirelli said. “One of the first things we did was bring in an imaging system that improves the quality of the screening and interpretation for pap smears.”Cirelli's previous work experience enabled her to make informed recommendations to Butler Health System and the lab team to create profitable assets and income streams.“We brought the imaging system in and basically grew our business tenfold,” Cirelli said. “We had this really excellent technology that we could offer to the area with a network. The immediate Butler community at first, then other offices in Erie and Meadville joined the network.”This new service allowed partners in the network to leverage Butler hospital as an alternative to shipping specimens to out-of-state labs. Working with the lab at Butler hospital meant that offices could have results back in a shorter time frame.“We meet their needs right here,” said Cirelli. “(Having this service) allows us to build a bigger outreach and build the infrastructure that helps to bring those services and careers to the Butler community.”“We continue to find technologies that improve the delivery of results for better patient care,” Cirelli said.
“At one point, I was the supervisor of phlebotomy processing and pathology,” Cirelli said. “Processors and phlebotomists are entry spots and the front door to the laboratory and the whole health system.”“Phlebotomists are frontline people, they interact directly with patients, doctors and other staff,” she said. “There is a training class at Butler County Community College and one of our techs is the instructor. Many phlebotomists go on to become registered nurses, certified nursing assistants and more.”A phlebotomist is a medical professional who specializes in drawing blood. They may need to draw it for patient care, research purposes or both. Often these results are needed to learn more about a particular patient's medical history or issues that they may be experiencing.“It's a good spot to see everything in the health system. You interact with doctors and nurses, you're on the floors in the hospital, meeting people in outreaches and going to nursing homes,” Cirelli said. “From a social service side, you're seeing people at their most vulnerable,” she said. “You may be the only new face they see in their world. You impact people every day by just being present.”“Specimen processors are handling specimens and doing a lot of data entry,” Cirelli said. “They're making sure the order is correct and the necessary codes for payment are provided. While they are still handling specimens, the focus is more on the data entry side of the process.”Becoming a specimen processor is straightforward with courses and programs available at many institutions. Most programs will include a clinical rotation. Job titles can be medical laboratory technician or medical laboratory scientist.“(This path) allows you to do the job now and move ahead anywhere you want in your field,” Cirelli said. “You can take time off, have a family and come back without losing any (traction) as long as you maintain your continuing education credits.”“Processors have gone on to work in medical sales, be lab techs in clinical trials, work with pharmaceutical companies or continued on in clinical hospital-based laboratories,” she said. “The opportunities are just tremendous.“Like everything in life, you can make as much as you want out of it,” Cirelli said. “(Here at Butler hospital) you have the support to do it.”
