Name: Brenda Adler
Title: Lab Supervisor
Tenure: 5 years full-time
Hobbies: Spending time with children and grandchildren. Reading books. Going on vacation.
Bio: In life, often times, timing is everything. That’s something that Brenda Adler, the Lab Supervisor for Crook County Medical Services District understands all too well.
Before working for CCMSD, Adler worked as a medical technologist for more than 30 years, honing her skills in various methodologies, including microbiology, chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, bodily fluids and more.
Eventually, however, she came to work for Crook County Medical Services District.
“I actually have a history with Crook County,” Adler stated. “I’ve been a part-time employee with Crook County on and off throughout the years, doing PRN work for approximately 15 years. About 5 years ago, I was offered a full time position and it was an awesome time for me to take that and make the move.”
So, that’s exactly what she did. That was five years ago and, in those five years, Adler has learned a lot about the job and she’s been able to put those countless skills she has acquired to use.
But,” she said, “most importantly, my job is to make sure that every single result that we send out is accurate, because the physicians and the patients really rely on that.”
In addition to working as the Lab Supervisor, Adler also works as a bench tech at CCMSD as well.
“I’m not above doing anything that anybody else does,” she said. “I take calls, I draw patients, I work the bench. I’m going to the ER’s and drawing patients there. I’m definitely in the rotation for call, constantly. I just do it all.”
So, too, does her team of employees.
“During my time in this role, I’ve seen my department grow quite a bit – from two employees, including me, to 4 ½ employees now,” Adler said. “And all of them are excellent.”
In fact, everybody who works at Crook County Medical Services District is excellent.
“This is a very needed hospital service,” Adler said. “It’s in the community; it’s here for patients that maybe don’t want to go to a bigger hospital because they rely on their community hospital, and they don’t want to go anywhere else. They want to come in and see that friendly face; that face that takes the extra time, that face that recognizes them and assures them that they’re not just a number.”
It’s that comfortability, that recognition, that distinguishes CCMSD from any other hospitals in the region.
“When a patient comes in, we recognize who they are,” Adler stated. “We know them. We see them out in the community. They’re not just somebody that we don’t care about or don’t have any connection with. Even if it’s a new person that comes in, we really go that extra mile for everybody that comes in.”
Connection is important at CCMSD. It’s important to the patients and it’s important to the employees. Connection is also Adler’s favorite part of the job.
“I think my favorite part of the job is actually drawing the patients and being able to interact with them,” she shared. “I miss out on that sometimes when I get bogged down with all the supplies ordering and such. I mean, I enjoy doing the administrative stuff because that gets my mind going. But I just really enjoy interacting with the patients and being able to help them have a good experience.”
That is the goal of the entire lab department of CCMSD – to ensure that patients have a good experience.
“When I think of the lab, I think of all the good things that it provides to the community,” she said. “And that’s because we go above and beyond what most labs provide. We have corporate wellness, we have community wellness, and then we have labs right in your hometown, with an expanded menu. You can come in, have your labs done right in your hometown, and get the results the same day.”
Which is an important point to consider. In many cases, when patients are getting lab work done, they’re doing so under very stressful circumstances. So being able to get their results the same day is a huge benefit of CCMSD.
Another incredible service that CCMSD offers is their Community Wellness Program.
“We go out to the community,” Adler said. We go to the little towns, to the community buildings, and we see patients there. I don’t think anybody else does that. In most cases, they have to go to the hospital or an Urgent Care building. But we go to them.”
It’s that commitment to patient care that differentiates CCMSD from any other hospital.
“We make the time for our patients,” she said.
And that’s important because, as we’ve said, timing is everything.