Natural disasters and pandemics sometimes overwhelm the primary health facilities, with patients and victims requiring alternative areas where they can be cared for. Also, the natural disaster may be located in remote areas away from formal health institutions. Typically constructed as a modular structure, temporary environments address planned, emergency, or backup options with fully functional and hygienic solutions. The standard uses include lab tests, autopsies, morgue, and patient care.
One of the characteristics of temporary environments, especially for long-term use in disasters like pandemics, is that they should replicate the primary environment as closely as possible regarding temperature, sanitation, and equipment. This means that regardless of the purpose, whether lab testing, patient care, autopsy, or morgue, the environment should be as close as possible to the region’s primary facilities. A similar environment, especially for testing, validates and retains the integrity of any test performed in the temporary environment, since the conditions are essentially identical. The results should be acceptable and valid. Second, the temporary environment should be easy and quick to deploy, with minimal environmental impact. Disasters and pandemics require urgent attendance. Thus, lengthy assembly procedures further delay the emergency response process. The environments are often prefabricated and stored for immediate deployment with minimal and easy-to-assemble processes and fixtures. Also, temporary environments should be versatile and customizable in use, mobility, shape, and size. This makes them useful for applications like emergency shelters, lab test centers, storage units, and temporary mortuaries. The versatility also allows ease of adaptability to different climates, like allowances for the addition of insulation for colder weather or uses requiring low temperatures.
0 Comments
In 2020, Scimedico LLC, a full-service laboratory services and solutions company, launched the Temporary Morgue End User Survey to highlight best practices for temporary morgue settings. It sought to gather information and identify gaps in protocols.
Scimedico LLC offers services to the pathology, law enforcement, and necropsy sectors. Services include decontamination, laboratory monitoring, and temporary environments. The survey explored how the nation had performed regarding decent response management to COVID-19. According to Miguel Bermeo, CEO of Scimedico, the company planned to share its data with qualified entities keen on implementing best practices. In addition, the organization planned to publish a downloadable white paper available to customers, healthcare sector stakeholders, and pertinent government agencies for free. The findings stemmed from customer input and analysis obtained from Scimedico’s deployments around the United States despite the survey occurring during challenging times. Information gathered helped entities plan future response models and ensure safe patient handling within temporary morgue settings. Promoting the longevity of lab equipment requires implementing preventive maintenance measures. These practices benefit not only the equipment, but also the overall efficiency, reliability, and safety of laboratory operations.
Preventive maintenance of laboratory equipment should be consistent and follow a systemized timetable or schedule. Preventive maintenance schedules for lab equipment involve systematic inspection to address issues early, ensuring equipment efficiency. These maintenance schedules are adaptable and depend on myriad factors. The most prevalent include the rate of lab equipment usage, manufacturer recommendations about how to take care of particular laboratory apparatus, and the age of the specific lab instruments. Lab equipment used frequently or in harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures and humidity may need more frequent maintenance. Similarly, laboratory equipment that has been in use for an extended period should be given priority for regular maintenance. Safety-critical equipment, such as medical devices, requires frequent maintenance to ensure compliance with safety standards. A key maintenance consideration is to ensure that all laboratory technicians are proficient and fully comprehend the importance of exercising caution in their work. This is essential for the correct and safe operation of equipment. Common competency requirements for lab technicians include proficiency in the requisite technical skills alongside scientific knowledge, work experience, certifications, and passion for work. Lab technicians often handle potentially hazardous materials, underscoring the need for their high level of skill and caution. In addition, they bear the responsibility of maintaining the integrity and accuracy of delicate instruments. Effective record-keeping is the cornerstone of organized and efficient laboratory management. Detailed maintenance records have an important role in laboratory operations. They are a comprehensive historical reference, tracking equipment performance and reliability over time. These records are invaluable for troubleshooting, as they assist laboratory personnel in identifying and resolving emerging issues by referencing past maintenance data. This systematic approach empowers laboratory managers and supervisors to make informed and strategic decisions regarding equipment maintenance and replacement. This helps reduce equipment or lab downtime. Maintaining a consistent cleaning schedule is critical to prevent the presence of contaminants that can affect test or experiment outcomes. For instance, in a microbiology lab, it’s advisable for lab personnel to meticulously clean and autoclave pipettes and Petri dishes. Doing so helps prevent cross-contamination, ensuring accurate results. Additionally, proper equipment storage and careful handling are essential to prevent physical damage. In a laboratory or research setting, prudent storage safeguards equipment from damage and wear over time. Meticulous handling practices, such as gentle manipulation and secure transport, further protect equipment from structural or functional harm. Regular calibration is fundamental to maintaining the accuracy of many lab instruments. An excellent example is precision balances, which are routinely calibrated to ensure accurate measurements involving mass and weight. In tests and experiments that are highly sensitive to climatic conditions, meticulous control over the laboratory environment is of utmost importance. Calibration laboratory equipment and processes are highly sensitive to environmental factors. The accuracy of results can be significantly influenced by temperature, humidity, and air quality. This makes it crucial to maintain optimal conditions in the lab environment. Monitoring equipment inventory and usage patterns is crucial for optimizing resources. For instance, in a clinical lab, tracking blood analyzer usage enables effective budgeting for maintenance or replacement. This ensures timely patient test results without unnecessary delays. Biological laboratories enable scientific research breakthroughs across various fields, such as medicine, agriculture, genetics, and biotechnology. These closely monitored environments allow scientists to study living organisms, conduct experiments, and develop a good understanding of the object of their study. However, the potential risks associated with working in such facilities are severe, as they involve handling infectious agents and hazardous materials.
Decontamination protocols in biological laboratories are essential as they help safeguard researchers and the environment. Firstly, they defend against accidental exposure to dangerous pathogens and toxins. Many highly infectious biological agents can pose severe health risks if accidentally released into the laboratory environment. By following strict decontamination procedures, researchers can minimize the chances of accidental exposure, protecting themselves and their colleagues. Secondly, decontamination protocols help neutralize hazardous agents from laboratory equipment, surfaces, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Laboratory equipment used in experiments can become contaminated with pathogens, so decontaminating these items thoroughly is essential to prevent potential cross-contamination between experiments. Similarly, surfaces within the laboratory must be cleaned regularly to eliminate any lingering infectious particles. Thirdly, following decontamination protocols prevents the spread of infectious agents outside the laboratory. Containment is paramount, especially when working with highly infectious or genetically modified organisms. Proper decontamination ensures that any accidental release of hazardous agents is contained within the laboratory, mitigating the risk of a broader outbreak. Decontamination is conducted using various methods such as radiation, liquid disinfection, heat, and vapor and gases. Radiation, a method commonly used for decontaminating surfaces, equipment, and certain types of waste, uses ionizing radiations, such as gamma rays, X-rays, and electron beams, effectively destroying microorganisms and rendering them non-infectious. For liquid disinfection, chemical disinfectants are used to decontaminate surfaces, equipment, and PPE. These disinfectants can effectively kill or inactivate many microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The effectiveness of liquid disinfectant depends on contact time, concentration, organism, and other specified conditions of use. When using heat for decontamination, laboratories utilize autoclaving, a process that employs high-pressure steam to decontaminate laboratory equipment and media. The high temperatures achieved during autoclaving effectively destroy microbial life. For vapor and gas decontamination, agents such as hydrogen peroxide vapor or chlorine dioxide gas penetrate hard-to-reach areas. Particularly effective against spores and resistant microorganisms, they are also adequate for fumigation purposes. Proper decontamination offers various benefits, starting with lab safety. The primary benefit of implementing decontamination protocols is enhanced safety for laboratory personnel. By reducing the risk of accidental exposure to hazardous agents, researchers can work with greater confidence and focus on their scientific endeavors. Decontamination protocols are essential for protecting the external environment from potential contamination. Laboratories dealing with genetically modified organisms or infectious agents must prevent accidental releases to avoid adverse impacts on ecosystems and public health. Proper decontamination also ensures the integrity of scientific research. Contamination can lead to erroneous results and compromise the validity of experiments. By maintaining a clean and uncontaminated environment, researchers can have greater confidence in the accuracy and reliability of their findings. A forensic pathologist is a medical examiner or medical doctor who conducts scientific examinations to determine the cause of violent, unexpected, or sudden death. In other words, a forensic pathologist specializes in identifying the cause of death using postmortem examination or autopsy.
While pathology refers to the laboratory examination of body tissues, forensics refers to the adoption of scientific processes in solving crime. Although they studied medicine, forensic pathologists must undergo a one-year residency in forensic pathology to be duly certified. This residency might take as much as three to four years post-medical school Most states in the United States have different regulations that determine how a forensic case is constituted. Also, the process of forensic pathology might vary depending on the state. Most states across the country adopt the medical examiner system with a chief medical examiner who is typically a medical doctor or physician. The chief medical examiner oversees several associate medical examiners whose duties involve carrying out the duties of a forensic pathologist. On the other hand, some states have adopted the coroner system, where the chief officer is not a physician but has forensic pathologists working under him. The responsibilities of a forensic pathologist can be divided into three major parts. First, they must conduct a preliminary examination at a crime scene. They also try to determine the exact time the individual died. Subsequently, they instruct a death scene investigator to move the body to the morgue for further analysis. Autopsy often requires the pathologist to dissect the body for signs of diseases, poisoning, or other injuries that might have resulted in death. While dissecting the body, the forensic pathologist might have to work with forensic toxicologists, who examine the tissues in the body to determine if the deceased ingested any poison. If the deceased was a victim of a homicide, the forensic psychologist is obligated to work with a criminal investigator. The criminal investigator helps the forensic pathologist understand the circumstances that might have led to the deceased's death. Similarly, there are instances where the forensic pathologist needs the help of a forensic anthropologist or entomologist to determine the circumstances resulting in death. Forensic pathologists also specialize in toxicology, a science that helps detect poisons and determine their effects when ingested. Trace evidence is also one of the specialties of forensic pathologists. Trace evidence describes the kind of evidence or material left behind in crime scenes, for instance, body fluids, fingerprints, bullet residues, and hair. Forensic pathologists also study and assess genetic materials (DNA) to determine a body's identity or conclude if a person was or was not at the scene of an incident. At the end of all forensic investigations, the forensic pathologist must describe the manner of death, which might be through natural causes, accidents, suicide, and homicide. The forensic pathologist might be required to offer expert opinion in court to help the court determine the circumstances that resulted in the deceased's death. In cases of homicide, the medical examiner and coroner are usually brought before the court to present testimony about their findings. Scimedico LLC is a laboratory service that started operations in 2018 and is headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey. The company provides lab services within the field of life sciences. Scimedico LLC also provides temporary autopsy solutions.
A virtual autopsy is a non-invasive form that utilizes imaging techniques to obtain data from a dead body. Unlike regular autopsies, virtual autopsies are preservative and in situ. To ascertain the cause of death, virtual autopsy uses imagining techniques to acquire data from both within and outside the corpse. X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and CT are some techniques adopted during a virtual autopsy procedure. Over the years, virtual autopsies have improved in identifying vascular lesions and the execution of postmortem angiography. They can also spot effusion in the respiratory and digestive tracts. Virtual autopsies have also been instrumental in identifying and displaying wound depth and direction in gunshot victims. This has led to the increased use of virtual autopsies in forensic pathology. Based in New Jersey, Scimedico LLC delivers preventive maintenance solutions to lab facilities in areas such as pathology and necropsy. The Scimedico LLC team also has expertise in maintaining proper hygiene and medical compliance in settings such as hospitals and clinical labs. As explored in a 2022 Scimedico Engagement article, Scimedico LLC’s focus includes minimizing risk factors and taking preventive measures for tuberculosis (TB) exposure and frozen sectioning.
The latter is a process by which fresh tissue samples are quickly frozen and sliced and prepared for pathology analysis. This is typically undertaken in situations where the patient is actively undergoing surgery. It enables physicians to make informed on-the-spot decisions. A downside of frozen sectioning is that it presents major time constraints related to the processing of fresh tissue. This increases disease transmission risks from the tissue sample to health care staff. Indeed, frozen section lab workers have one of the highest infection exposure rates across the surgical pathology field. Tuberculosis presents a particularly significant danger. Mitigating TB transmission risk starts with performing work with TB-infected samples in a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab setting. This mandates that experiments be performed in biosafety cabinets, within an environment designed for quick decontamination. BSL-3 labs must be equipped with directional air flow setups that prevent air in the lab from entering hallways and surrounding environments. Additionally, lab workers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) that includes an N95 or N100 respirator and disposable gloves and gowns. These pieces of PPE must be removed when leaving the lab and placed in dedicated bags for disposal. Because the presence of TB in a sample isn’t always known in advance, all healthcare workers should also undergo baseline TB screenings in cases where potential TB sample exposure has occurred. Post-exposure tests are performed twice, after the frozen sectioning is completed and eight to ten weeks following the time of exposure risk. Scimedico LLC is a full-service laboratory processing and solution provider based in West Orange, New Jersey. Formed in 1998, Scimedico LLC offers various services, including preventative maintenance, decontamination, temporary environments, and laboratory monitoring.
Laboratory monitoring is crucial in ensuring lab safety. Scientists and analysts conduct scientific research and experiments in laboratories. They contain a wide range of potentially dangerous materials and equipment. A small mistake in mishandling these materials can have severe consequences, such as explosions, fires, or toxic gas leaks. Effective lab safety monitoring helps prevent accidents and injuries by identifying potential hazards before they cause any harm. Laboratory monitoring includes installing monitors that check for changes in pressure, temperature, humidity, presence of hazardous gases, water spills, and ventilation. It also ensures that appropriate safety equipment and protocols are in place and that laboratory personnel is properly trained. Regular safety inspections and audits are vital in identifying potential areas of improvement and ensuring that safety measures are followed consistently. In addition to protecting lab workers and researchers, monitoring lab safety is essential for protecting the surrounding environment and communities. Many hazardous materials used in laboratories can pose significant environmental risks if not handled properly, and spills or leaks contaminate water or air sources. A firm producing equipment and lab stations used in pathology, cytology, and histology, Scimedico, LLC has over 20 years of experience serving many healthcare workers. A supporter of multiple healthcare employee organizations, Scimedico, LLC supports groups like the American Red Cross and the National Society for Histotechnology (NSH).
Histotechnology encompasses the processes used to distinguish normal tissue, taken from diagnostic patient samples, from diseased tissue. Using techniques like stains, DNA analysis, and dyes, histologists allow pathologists to identify specific diseases. The NSH has over 40 years of experience in education, advocacy, and professional development for histologists, paired with efforts to inform the public. The NSH publishes several content types of varying frequencies to perform its education functions. Its NSH eNews Brief, circulated via email, releases whenever relevant news about histology breaks. The weekly Fixation on Histology article series, released every Friday and open to user-submitted content, highlights a specific technique or notable NSH member. The Journal of Histotechnology, its peer-reviewed publication, releases one volume annually, divided into four issues, released every third month of each year. Articles not only contain content about laboratory equipment and methods but about the administrative aspects of histotechnology. Scimedico LLC, a West Orange, New Jersey-based company, strives to make a difference in its clients' laboratory services by prioritizing a hygienic, functional, and safe working environment to improve patient care. For several years, Scimedico LLC has provided decontamination solutions for clinical lab settings, with the recent one being in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Decontamination is one of the ways to maintain lab hygiene which usually involves removing contaminants from surfaces or objects in the lab. Ways to decontaminate a clinical lab include using disinfectants, ultraviolet (UV) light, and sterilizing surfaces and objects with heat or chemicals. Decontaminating clinic labs is especially important to prevent the spread of deadly infectious pathogens. In this age of COVID-19, the CDC guidance recommends that clinical labs use decontamination as an additional step to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Doing this ensures the health and safety of the laboratory staff and the patients it serves. Decontamination is also vital to maintaining the integrity of ongoing research. This process prevents lab research materials from being contaminated, guaranteeing that the results are reliable and verifiable. Lastly, decontamination can also help an organization save money by avoiding regulatory fines and resources needed to clean up the clinic. |
AuthorWest Orange, New Jersey’s Scimedico, LLC - Life Sciences Lab Services. Archives
September 2023
Categories
All
|