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April 24, 2020

Honoring our medical lab professionals

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is observed each April to recognize clinical laboratory professionals for the contribution they make to the health of our communities, through their work in public health laboratories.

This Lab Week we acknowledge the risks that laboratory professionals are taking to serve patients during the pandemic and appreciate the measures they take to mitigate risks to their colleagues and communities.

OHA's Oregon State Public Health Laboratory in Hillsboro celebrated Laboratory Professionals Week with some thoughtfully social distanced games – bingo, Boggle, a trivia scavenger hunt, and more.

A State Lab staffer plays "lab Boggle."

"With social distancing measures, we were unable to gather for a celebration this year, but several staff have kept the fun alive with fun games and activities," said virology/immunology manager Shane Sevey.

There are over 310,000 practicing lab professionals in the United States – that's about one for every 1,100 citizens. And every lab professional knows that behind each sample or specimen is a person.

OSH lab personnel (from left): Jason Davis, Carole Vickery, Sharon Laddusaw, Megan Eichenberger, Jennifer Hayes; not pictured, Lynette Gilmore and Kayla Lowry of Salem and Jeremy Lewis, Junction City.

Lab Week spotlight: OSH scientist Lynette Gilmore called to New York City

Hospital Corpsman Chief Lynette Gilmore was deployed in early April to New York City. She helped set up and is now working in the lab at the field hospital in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in the heart of Manhattan.  When not starting a lab from scratch in the middle of New York City, Lynette is employed as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist in the Oregon State Hospital Laboratory.  She has served OSH patients since February 2015. “I am currently in NYC leading the lab with EMF (Expeditionary Medical Facility) Bethesda," Gilmore said in recent correspondence with Jennifer Hayes, OSH lab director. "The Navy and the Army are working together to help the citizens of NYC. We receive patients daily from hospitals. Our job is to help the City get these patients healthy and back home. We do all-care, so it is like a large hospital.” Gilmore has spent 18½ years in the Navy.  She joined just before 9/11. Since joining the Oregon State Hospital team, she has previously been deployed to Camp Lemmonier in the Republic of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, where she worked in the lab to support troops.

Diversity Leadership Team members selected

We are pleased to announce the 13 members of OHA’s new Diversity Leadership Team.

They were selected from 56 applications in a very competitive process; many thanks to all who applied.

The Diversity Leadership Team (DLT) is an advisory team that reports to the OHA and Equity and Inclusion directors and is grounded in the agency’s core value of health equity. Its purpose is to advance workforce equity and inclusion, and ultimately eliminate health inequities in Oregon through sharing of ideas and perspectives on strategic activities.

Questions? Contact Beth Sanders, OHA Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator (she/hers).

Technical FAQ has more answers

The Office of Information Services (OIS) has updated its technical FAQ on the OWL's joint agency COVID response site.

Need to convert an in-person meeting to a Skype meeting? Can you use Google Hangout? Why's my worksite computer off in the morning so I can't remote in via Citrix? Find answers to questions like these and more.

And keep submitting your questions to the OIS Service Desk.

OHA launches OHA en Español Facebook page

To better meet the needs of Spanish speaking Oregonians, we are pleased to announce the launch of a new Oregon Health Authority Facebook page exclusively in Spanish. OHA en Español reflects our value of promoting equitable distribution of information and resources to help individuals reach their full health potential and well-being. Like and share our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ohaespanol. 

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