Virology testing previously performed at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH) Virology Laboratory officially transitioned to the Barnes Jewish Hospital (BJH) Molecular Infectious Disease Laboratory (MIDL) on January 29, 2018. This transition, a component of the “Making BJC Better” initiative, has been carefully planned over recent years.
For BJH and SLCH physicians, there will not be any changes in test ordering practices. In addition, there will be no significant changes in methodologies or turnaround times, though results will now be reported with a comment specifying BJH as the testing location.
This transition was made possible due to the hard work and dedication of the SLCH Virology and BJH MIDL teams. As part of the transition, 7 new molecular assays were developed for use on a variety of sample types, requiring testing of >2,500 validation specimens. The goal is to provide a wide range of virology tests at the new location while continuing to offer the high-quality service previously provided by SLCH.
This transition will also provide the opportunity for future improvements including both expansion of the test menu as well as increasing testing volume capacity, allowing us to better serve the BJC system. Finally, the close proximity of the BJH microbiology and MIDL allows for exciting new areas of synergy that were not previously possible. Thank you in advance for your support and patience in this effort as we navigate this transition.
If you have any questions, please contact Neil Anderson, M.D., Assistant Medical Director of Microbiology at 314-362-1307 or Lindsay Lay, Manager of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Molecular Infectious Diseases Laboratory at 314-454-7601.