The Clinical Laboratory Collaborative hosts its annual spring meeting, “Laboratorians: The Ultimate Team Players in Patient Care” May 14–16 at the St. Paul.Crowne Plaza.

The 8 group Clinical Laboratory Collaborative hosts its annual spring meeting titled “Laboratorians: The Ultimate Team Players in Patient Care” May 14 – May 16 at the Crowne Plaza in St. Paul.
This years baseball theme, complete with a Twins baseball game excursion, celebrates the team culture and generous spirit of laboratory professionals who work “24/7” to rapidly and accurately analyze blood and body fluids in order to help diagnose various health conditions.
Labs Are Vital™
This conference closely follows on the heels of “National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week” April 20 – 26. A tour of downtown St. Paul finds colorful “Labs Are Vital™” posters prominently displayed at several points in the St. Paul public transportation system. These displays are intended to promote public awareness of the critical role the clinical laboratory profession plays in healthcare. The posters creatively communicate how lab professionals impact patient care every day, from identifying cholesterol levels to helping diagnose heart attacks. The role of laboratory professionals is often understated, but they are indeed a crucial component of the healthcare team.

Labs Are Vital is a multi-pronged, multi-year education and awareness program sponsored by Abbott Diagnostics that is designed to highlight the critical role that laboratory professionals play in healthcare and to address the issues facing laboratories today. The program – which includes a public awareness campaign, an Instrument Donation Program and a variety of web-based resources (www.labsarevital.com) for laboratory professionals – focuses attention on the life-saving work medical laboratory scientists provide in diagnosing disease and improving health outcomes.

About Laboratory Professional Organizations - MN
The Minnesota collaborative group is comprised of representatives from eight different laboratory professional organizations, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC), the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS-MN), the American Medical Technologists (AMT), the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT), the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), the Minnesota Association of Blood Banks (MnABB), and the Minnesota Interlaboratory Microbiology Association (MIMA).
About the Meeting
This meeting is held each spring with the location alternating between the Twin Cities, Duluth, St. Cloud, and Rochester. It is organized solely by a volunteer program committee. This dedicated core team, representing the eight collaborating professional organizations, gives generously of their time and resources to put together a robust conference that is both fun and educational.
More than 600 attendees are expected at the three-day conference which will offer over 40 educational topics from “Laboratory Licensure” to “Tick Borne Diseases in Minnesota” to “Pharmacogenetics: Personalized Medicine”.
Sixty or more global Clinical Diagnostics Corporations are among the exhibitors. A select few such as Abbott, Beckman Coulter, Becton Dickenson, Bio-Rad, BioMerieux, Ortho, Roche, Siemens, Stago, and Sysmex have been recruited to create a “Spring Training Camp” interactive forum that will both entertain and educate the attendees on the latest laboratory analyzers, products and processes.
In general, the conference goals are to:
• Promote mutual understanding, cooperation and networking among clinical laboratory science professionals in the interest of public health.
• Provide valuable continuing education opportunities for clinical laboratory professionals.
• Promote professional standards in clinical laboratory practice, research, and education.
Detailed program and exhibit information can be found at www.asclsmn.org