Southcoast partners with pathology group

NEW BEFORD – Southcoast Hospitals has forged a partnership with University Pathologists LLC, a large medical group with academic affiliations and labs in 11 hospitals in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, to provide services that previously required an outside referral.
University Pathologist covers six subspecialties and employs more than 30 pathologists who have been trained in both general and specialized areas of anatomical and clinical pathology. This year, they will handle more than 100,000 surgical cases and 50,000 cytology specimens.
Turnaround is typically 24 to 72 hours, though complex cases may take longer.
“Pathologists are a critical link to the three Southcoast Hospitals, Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care and the Southcoast physician practices,” said Ralph Ito, administrative director of laboratory and pathology at Southcoast. “The presence of this specialized pathology group at Southcoast Hospitals offers patients efficient pathology results with a fast turnaround time that reduces anxiety for the patient.”
Pathology is the study of disease and diagnosis by looking at tissue, blood, urine and other bodily fluids. When a physician takes a biopsy or receives a specimen, it is then sent to a lab where it is analyzed by a pathologist, a physician who specializes in this field. The pathologist is the one who makes the final diagnosis and, if necessary, consults with the patient’s physician to discuss the optimal method of treatment for the patient.
“Working together we can cover the whole range of pathology while focusing on our own areas of expertise,” said Dr. Mirela Stancu, a gastrointestinal pathologist with the group. “Having this level of expertise available in the labs at Southcoast Hospitals is a great benefit to our communities and our physicians. It also avoids additional expense, delay and possibly another anesthesia because many specimens will be processed at Southcoast Hospitals.”
The group also has a physician liaison to work closely with all area physicians.
“The availability of this level of pathology subspecialty at the community hospital level is a very unique concept,” said Dr. Erin O’Leary, a pathologist with the group. “We can offer a community hospital the same level of pathology service that you would find at an academic institution.”
All pathology departments associated with University Pathologists are accredited by the College of American Pathologists and The Joint Commission.
For more information about Southcoast Hospitals, visit www.southcoast.org.