– announces alliance with NexGen Pathology

THE St Joseph Mercy Hospital (SJMH) has entered into a partnership with a prestigious Caribbean laboratory facility that will vastly enhance the hospital’s capacity to provide timely diagnosis and value-based medical care to its patients.

This week, SJMHs’ Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Deborrah Ramsay announced the hospital’s agreement with Trinidad-based NexGen Pathology, a fully CAP (College of American Pathologists) accredited laboratory that specialises in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Molecular Diagnostics and Genetic studies.

In a release, the hospital said Ms. Ramsay disclosed that the new partnership with NexGen will expand and improve the hospital’s medical diagnostic services because it gives SJMH direct access to the acclaimed laboratory’s cutting-edge technology. The Deputy CEO indicated that the collaboration with NexGen Pathology is a key element of the hospital’s strategic focus on constantly upgrading the quality of its medical services to fulfil its core mission of promoting good health and well-being, while maintaining meaningful bonds with the medical community, patients and the communities it serves.

Giving a brief overview of what the partnership entails, CEO and Founder of NexGen Pathology, Dr. Wesley Greaves explained that a main component of the laboratory’s services is Surgical Pathology, which involves diagnosing surgical specimens, including breast biopsies and skin biopsies.

“If someone did a surgical procedure for a tumour and the tumour needs diagnosis, then it would need to go to the pathology lab to be diagnosed. That is a basic service that will be provided,” he explained.
According to the release, Dr. Greaves noted that the Caribbean has a history of lacking skilled human resources in terms of internationally trained pathologists to provide specialist services; however, the partnership will allow SJMH to benefit from the expertise of NexGen Pathology’s four American board- certified pathologists.

Dr. Greaves said the facility also has sub-specialty pathologists trained in Haematopathology, gastrointestinal, liver and breast pathology. “This sort of world class team of pathologists is unprecedented in the English-speaking Caribbean and that is the kind of quality service we will be bringing to Mercy…” Dr. Greaves said.

He added that while SJMH has its own on-site laboratory, NexGen Pathology will provide a comprehensive range of laboratory services, some of which are not done at SJMH.
According to Dr Greaves, who is a specialist in Molecular Genetics Pathology, NexGen Pathology is also a strong provider of DNA testing, which is not widely available in the Caribbean; samples for analysis will be shipped to NexGen Pathology’s laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago. Tests will be done either there or at a partnering lab in North America and r.eports from findings will be sent electronically. “Even with that logistical reality in terms of the specimens having to go outside of Guyana, we believe we can meet and even beat the turnaround times that one would usually be accustomed to when sourcing these services here within Guyana. So we are confident that even with that limitation at this point in time, our turnaround time can match world-class standards,” he said.

He added that NexGen is “the only fully comprehensive medical laboratory in the English-speaking Caribbean to have accreditation with the College of American Pathologists.”
“Our desire is to partner with anyone who has that passion and interest and where we can find common ground in terms of providing the best quality of health care and medical services. We think we have found such a partner in Mercy Hospital…we believe…we have that same kind of drive to provide the best possible care. “We know that St Joseph Mercy has a particular tradition and is recognised here in Guyana for their level of services. We think that we can definitely find common ground in terms of our desire to provide the best possible health care to patients who most need it,” he said.

SJMH’s Lab Manager Ms. Cindy Lalaram underscored the importance of getting pathology results in a timely manner to ensure well-timed diagnoses and treatment, lest a patient’s condition worsens because of delays in testing and acquiring test results. SJMH does not do pathology-testing and makes use of external services. “The turnaround time can be long and by the time they get back the result, the patient’s condition may have degenerated,” Lalaram said.

However, she noted that NexGen Pathology’s turnaround time is about seven to 10 days, depending on when SJMH submits the samples. NexGen Pathology’s Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Ms. Andrea Richardson, a Guyanese who is resident in Trinidad, anticipates tremendous benefits from the relationship. “I think that Mercy Hospital is a pillar in the community and wants to add to what they currently do. I think only great things can come from this relationship,” she said.

Richardson said that the NexGen liaison significantly boosts SJMH’s capabilities.