Laboratory

About Laboratory Services

The Laboratory Department at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) provides a broad variety of tests for preventative screening, as well as tests ordered by your provider as a part of developing a personalized care and treatment plan for you. Ours is a full-service clinical laboratory meaning we process a wide variety of routine and urgent (STAT) tests in-house, while also utilizing lab-to-lab referrals to process tests which are less common.

When you need to have blood drawn, it’s important that you are cared for by gentle and experienced hands. The CMH Laboratory is a recipient of the Laboratory Excellence Award from COLA (a non-profit laboratory accreditation organization that ensures commitment to excellence and quality in patient safety and health care), which recognizes that the laboratory exceeds national quality standards and regulatory requirements.

Getting a Lab Test

Our dedicated Laboratory Services team operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.  We process lab tests for hospital patients, outpatient clinic patients, and we accommodate walk-in patients without an appointment at one of our four blood-draw stations at these locations:

1. Columbia Memorial Hospital (use the west entrance)
   Open 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Friday
2. CMH Health & Wellness Pavilion – 1st floor
   Open 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday-Friday
3. Park Medical Building – East Entrance, Suite 109
   Closed effective April 6, 2020
4. CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative
   Open 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday

No appointment is necessary. If you have been referred to the lab by a CMH medical provider, there is no need for you to bring any paperwork with you.  If your provider is not associated with CMH, please bring your lab orders with you or ask your doctor to fax them to CMH Laboratory Services at 503-338-4522.

After-Hours Lab Tests

We realize that many people are taking care of other business during “business hours”. To accommodate those who need blood draw services after-hours, CMH offers lab services through the Emergency Department. For additional information, or to request an after-hours test, call 503-338-7570.

Blood Bank

A Blood Bank is a place where blood is collected from donors, typed, separated into components, stored, and prepared for transfusion to recipients.  CMH maintains a blood bank and is the only hospital in the region that offers fresh plasma and platelets for cancer patients and people in emergency situations, preventing any delay in lifesaving care.

Full-service Laboratory

The laboratory provides expertise and service in these areas:

• Hematology (study of blood’s physical form)
• Coagulation (blood clotting)
• Urinalysis (urine testing)
• Chemistry/toxicology (detect chemicals or toxins in blood)
• Serology (examination of immune system’s activity in blood)
• Transfusion services (transferring blood or blood products from one person to another)
• Microbiology (test for infectious disease)
• Point-of-care testing of blood gases (bedside test to measure the amount of oxygen and other gases in the blood)
• Frozen categories (examine biopsied tissues, often for cancer)
• DNA/Molecular testing (tests to look at genetic code and proteins)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Q: How long will it take to get my lab results back? click to open

A: It usually takes 24 to 48 hours (2-4 days), depending on the type of test your provider ordered.

 

Q: Will you send a copy of the results to my primary care provider as well as the ordering physician? click to open

A: Yes. The laboratory secretary, as well as laboratory aides and technologist do all they can to ensure laboratory results are sent to your physicians.

 

Q: Why isn’t my laboratory test being paid for by Medicare? click to open

A: Each laboratory test is accompanied by a diagnosis code provided by your physician. If it is not adequate for Medicare or exceeds the frequency amount allowed by Medicare, then an advanced beneficiary notice should have been presented to you to sign. You can choose to do the test or refuse the test. The laboratory will contact the ordering physician for diagnosis re-evaluation prior to having the patient be financially responsible.

 

Q: My child is afraid to have their blood drawn. Will it hurt? click to open

A: Our phlebotomists (people whose job it is to draw blood) are very caring and tender. They do their best to reassure young patients, while also being honest about what they can expect to feel. As a parent or guardian, one of the most helpful things you can do is remain calm, confident and relaxed. If you appear stressed, your child will pick up on your feelings and feel more anxious too.

 

Q: How long did you have to go to school to work in the laboratory? click to open

A: It takes 2 years to become a medical Laboratory Technician, 4 years to become a Medical Laboratory Technologist, and additional time to become specialized in different areas of the laboratory. Phlebotomy skills can be learned on the job or with official training.