Enhancing the Standard of Sepsis Care at a Critical Access Hospital With Culture-Independent Testing
Recorded On: 09/29/2022
Session Description:
The current standard of care for detecting sepsis-causing pathogens involves analyzing positive blood cultures and an extended laboratory workflow that can take between one and five days. Once the culture is positive, subsequent rapid diagnostic techniques may be used for species identification. In this sponsored session, attendees will learn how culture-independent testing was implemented at a critical access hospital and how it has enhanced the facility’s standard of sepsis care.
This session was originally recorded in September 2022 as part of Sepsis Alliance Summit.
No CE credits are offered for this sponsored session. Content was determined by the sponsor.
Session Sponsor:
Sepsis Alliance gratefully acknowledges the support provided by T2 Biosystems for this sponsored session.
Jane Metko, MS, MLT
Director of Laboratory Services
Door County Medical Center
Jane Metko, MS, MLT, is the Director of Laboratory Services at Door County Medical Center, an award-winning critical access hospital located in northern Wisconsin. She serves as Chair of the Leadership Development committee and is an active member of the hospital’s infection control, antibiotic stewardship, clinical support services, and data analytics committees.
Ms. Metko is committed to ensuring the laboratory maintains robust and current testing to provide the highest quality for clinicians and patients. She has led initiatives to increase the hospital’s molecular capabilities to provide syndromic testing for gastrointestinal infection, meningitis/encephalitis, joint infection, and respiratory syndromes. During the pandemic, Ms. Metko led her team to increase testing capabilities for COVID-19 using pooling strategies and multiple platforms to provide all testing for the community. Ms. Metko is dedicated to providing the best patient care and access by implementing a drive-thru laboratory collection center to serve community members with limited mobility.
Ms. Metko serves on the board of directors for the Community Blood Center and Midwest Blood Center. She is also an advisory board member for the Customer Experience certificate program at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Ms. Metko is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and also an active volunteer for the local Meals-on-Wheels program.