Michigan Medicine health facilities including the University Hospital, University Health Service, Frankel Cardiovascular Center, C. S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, Taubman Health Center, and the Rogel Cancer Center are all connected by a pneumatic tube system that transports patient specimens to the Pathology Laboratories for testing and blood products from the blood bank to where they are needed. This system consists of 60,000 feet of pneumatic tube, called the P-tube. 6,000 P-tube carriers are propelled through the 6” tubing at a rate of 20 ft/sec or 13.6 miles/hour each day, transporting about 30,000 lbs daily. This is the equivalent of sending 2.5 male African Elephants through the system every day.
Soon, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Healthcare Pavilion will be added to this system, with an additional 2,000 transactions and 11,600 additional feet of tubing. To accommodate the additional volume, upgrades were needed. This meant shutting down the P-tube system for five days, between May 6 and May 11, 2024. However, during this time, the specimens still needed to be delivered to Pathology and blood still had to reach the floors. Somehow, the equivalent of 2.5 male African Elephants would need to be transported every day. How was this going to happen?
Mary Tocco, Administrative Lab Manager for Specimen Processing, stepped up and coordinated a team of Pathology volunteers and temporary staff to physically run the specimens from points of origin across Michigan Medicine facilities to the Pathology labs and blood products from the Blood Bank to resupply storage units supporting our operating rooms and hospital floors. Coined “runners”, the team of 60 staff plus a variety of temps took a combined total of 2.6 million steps between May 6 and May 11. These teammates did not just go the extra mile for our patients, they went an extra 1,368 miles! That is roughly the distance from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Miami, Florida. Kaitlyn Smith, one of our temporary staff, logged the most steps with 162,561 steps, or 71.1 miles, an average of 14 ¼ miles per day. On average, our runners covered 11.5 miles per shift.
“I want to thank you and express my appreciation to everyone for how well you managed this extraordinary pneumatic tube downtime. It is another example of great team effort, and I am proud of all of you,” stated Dr. Riccardo Valdez, Director of Clinical Pathology. “A BIG THANK YOU to you too, Mary, for your leadership and planning and executing on this!”
Together, this amazing team kept Michigan Medicine Hospitals and Clinics operating and made sure all patients received essential blood products and had their tests performed in a timely manner. Scott Marquette, Associate COO for UM Health Operations, expressed his appreciation, “The team certainly provided outstanding support to ensure patient care was not interrupted. A big thank you to all for these efforts.” They ensured our patients continued to receive the excellent care Michigan Medicine is known for. We applaud you for your efforts and thank you for your service to our patients!
ON THE COVER
Breast team reviewing a patient's slide. (From left to right) Ghassan Allo, Fellow; Laura Walters, Clinical Lecturer; Celina Kleer, Professor. See Article |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
Autopsy Technician draws blood while working in the Wayne County morgue. See Article |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
Dr. Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow, Chan Chung, PhD investigate pediatric brain cancer. See Article |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
|
ON THE COVER
Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship, Dr. Sandra Camelo-Piragua serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
|
ON THE COVER
Residents Ashley Bradt (left) and William Perry work at a multi-headed scope in our new facility. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
Dr. Kristine Konopka (right) instructing residents while using a multi-headed microscope. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
|
ON THE COVER
Patient specimens poised for COVID-19 PCR testing. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
|
ON THE COVER
Dr. Pantanowitz demonstrates using machine learning in analyzing slides. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
(Left to Right) Drs. Angela Wu, Laura Lamps, and Maria Westerhoff. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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ON THE COVER
Illustration representing the various machines and processing used within our labs. |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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MLabs, established in 1985, functions as a portal to provide pathologists, hospitals. and other reference laboratories access to the faculty, staff and laboratories of the University of Michigan Health System’s Department of Pathology. MLabs is a recognized leader for advanced molecular diagnostic testing, helpful consultants and exceptional customer service.