Tarrytown, NY, April 22, 2013: Today, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) officially recognize the 10-year anniversary of its annual joint scholarship program, helping address the nation’s shortage of qualified medical laboratory personnel by promoting the profession and defraying education costs. Since 2003, more than $1.5 million in scholarships has been awarded through the Siemens – ASCP Scholarship Program to deserving students pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in medical laboratory science or other areas of laboratory medicine.
To mark the occasion, Siemens and ASCP announce the awarding of over 100 scholarships to the nation’s top undergraduate and graduate medical laboratory students for the 2012–2013 academic year [> see Winners]. Erin McCarthy, a 2009 scholarship winner, is a testament to the Program’s success, having landed a career as a Cytology Supervisor at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison State Laboratory of Hygiene, where her work includes screening for Pap smears and evaluating cytology specimens.
“I highly recommend other laboratory professional students apply for Siemens–ASCP scholarships,” said McCarthy. “It was a great experience and huge honor to receive this scholarship. Recipients not only have a leg up in getting into the job market, but also get to be part of an industry that makes a difference in people’s lives.”
"Siemens and ASCP are very proud to reach this milestone in our scholarship program. As we look toward the future, we believe our commitment to helping laboratory professionals enter this vital profession not only benefits the industry, but the clinicians and patients they serve for generations to come,” said Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics CEO, Michael Reitermann, and ASCP Executive Vice President, E. Blair Holladay, PhD, SCT(ASCP)CM, through a joint statement.
Medical laboratory diagnostics – tests performed on the body’s blood, urine or tissue samples to obtain critical data used to indentify disorders, infections and diseases – is a key healthcare value driver. Worldwide spending on laboratory diagnostic tests is only 2 percent of total healthcare costs, yet 70 percent of medical decision making is influenced by medical laboratory test results. A recent ASCP survey examined vacancy rates among U.S. medical laboratories, suggesting that while there’s been a slight decrease (2 percent) in the employment gap versus two years ago, future demand for medical laboratory professionals in the United States is expected to spike in the next 12–18 months. This will be fueled by more than 30 million people set to gain insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act coupled with the fact that more aging Baby Boomers are requiring more laboratory services.
How to address the likely surge in future employment demand is a topic uniting many U.S. medical laboratories at the moment, regardless of whether their own vacancy rates match, exceed or are below the new national average of 7 to 8 percent.
According to M. Sue Zaleski, MA, HT(ASCP)SCT, 2011–2012 Chair of ASCP’s Council of Laboratory Professionals and Lean Management Engineer in the Pathology Department at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, IA: “The new national average is lower than what we are experiencing in our region, which is running at about 10 to 11 percent. Our lab is implementing several new initiatives, all of which put a strain on its existing resources and will certainly require additional staff in the future.”
Similar perspectives are shared by Dr. Martin Fleisher, Laboratory Director at New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: “The shortage of qualified laboratory personnel available to enter the workforce is a serious issue that threatens to stifle U.S. laboratories’ ability to meet growing demands for fast, accurate testing services. Efforts such as the Siemens-ASCP Scholarship are needed to keep awareness of this issue high and help more people fill these important jobs.” For more information about the Siemens-ASCP Scholarship Program, please visit: www.siemens.com/diagnostics-scholarships or www.ascp.org/scholarships
About Siemens Healthcare Sector
Launched in November 2011, “Agenda 2013” is the initiative of the Siemens Healthcare Sector to further strengthen its innovative power and competitiveness. Specific measures, which will be implemented by the end of 2013, have been defined in four fields of action: innovation, competitiveness, regional footprint, and people development.
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its custom-ers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detec-tion to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 51,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2012 (to September 30), the Sector posted reve-nue of 13.6 billion euros and profit of around 1.8 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare
About the American Society for Clinical Pathology
Founded in 1922 in Chicago, ASCP is a medical professional society with more than 100,000 member board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologists, pathology residents and fellows, laboratory professionals, and students. ASCP provides excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory pro-fessionals. For more information, visit www.ascp.org
Contact for journalists:
Siemens Healthcare Media Relations
Gian Sachdev, phone: +1 508-660-4721
E-mail: [email protected]
ASCP Media Relations
Sara Patterson, phone: +1 312-541-4946
E-mail: [email protected]
Winners:
ALABAMA
Briana Duke (Hanceville)
Jalisa Wade (Montgomery)
ALASKA
Rebecca Lewis (Anchorage)
ARIZONA
Amber Gourley (Phoenix)
Rachel Martin (Phoenix)
Stacey Palmer (Phoenix)
ARKANSAS
Brittany Thomas (Helena)
CALIFORNIA
Sean Caonguyen (Rancho Mirage)
Chona Cruz (National City)
Mariya Groysman (Carson)
Danielle Jordan (San Diego)
Corey RIch (Orange)
COLORADO
Caddie Eley (Littleton)
Amy Faliano (Aurora)
Cara Faliano (Aurora)
Karen Rossi (Littleton)
Tawney Skidmore (Littleton)
CONNECTICUT
Taryn Bevins (Storrs)
DELAWARE
Brittany Adams (Georgetown)
Kari Cervelli (Newark)
Matthew Lewis (Georgetown)
Michele Savage (Georgetown)
Erica Steele (Georgetown)
Hristina Vasileva (Georgetown)
FLORIDA
Andre Alexander (Ft. Pierce)
Juliana Gutierrez (Orlando)
Patrice Hinds (Pensacola)
Lisa Lester (Ft. Pierce)
Alicia Thomas (Ft. Pierce)
GEORGIA
Lacey Campbell (Evans)
Ashley Gartland (Atlanta)
Rebecca Miller (Brunswick)
Roderita Mitchell (Dalton)
Everist Ononye (Macon)
Inessa Pinto (Savannah)
Todd Reisinger (Brunswick)
ILLINOIS
Ashley Boykin (Kankakee)
Katelyn Fanning (Springfield)
Chelsey Jones (Normal)
Joan Kacmar (Crystal Lake)
Jennifer Overlin (Dekalb)
Shreya Patel (Des Plaines)
Sara Puracchio (Normal)
Molly Reed (Peoria)
Samuel Sollberger (Peoria)
Kasi Spivey (Herrin)
INDIANA
Stephen Green (Sellersburg)
Whitney Lamp (Indianapolis)
Kristyn McCulley (Indianapolis)
Clodelicia Pena (Indianapolis)
Lisa Rhodes (Sellersburg)
Meira Wieser (Indianapolis)
IOWA
Jessica Scott (Ankeny)
LOUISIANA
Aaron Lin (New Orleans)
Diana Martinez (New Orleans)
MARYLAND
Mehwish Akhtar (Baltimore)
Mary Haddaway (Salisbury)
Jasmine McCullough (Stevenson)
Mayer Rubin (Baltimore)
MICHIGAN
Amber Mills (University Center)
Allison Schnepf (Grand Rapids)
Jamie Taulbee (Allen Park)
MINNESOTA
Kelly Fine (Duluth)
Clarissa Goettl (Rochester)
Samantha Kerlin (Minneapolis)
Alexsandra Selva (Minneapolis)
Julie Sobolewski (Rochester)
Kurstin Wiewel (Rochester)
MISSISSIPPI
Angela Holmes (Meridian)
Robyn Ruffin (Meridian)
Felicia Weir (Meridian)
NEBRASKA
Dominica Bollig (Omaha)
John Buller (Omaha)
Jasmine Clarke (Omaha)
Kari Echtenkamp (Omaha)
Rochelle Finnigan (Omaha)
Kelsie Hogan (Omaha)
Ryan Lamparek (Omaha)
Sarah Meese (Omaha)
Richelle Seddon (Hastings)
Crystal Seiler (Scottsbluff)
Chelsea Serrato (North Platte)
Joshua Yost (Omaha)
NEVADA
Mohyon Franklin (Las Vegas)
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Emily Lantz (Durham)
NEW JERSEY
Shazia Khan (Newark)
Marlene McCray (Edison)
Gabrielle Wudarski (Newark)
NEW YORK
Maha Alsubai (Flushing)
Angela Aponte (Syracuse)
William Femec (Rochester)
Laura Gauthier (Albany)
Matthew Jackson (Syracuse)
Djedje Otoukpa (Stony Brook)
Catherine Piper (Jamiaca)
Elizabeth Shuskie (Williamsville)
Riki Turri (Rochester)
NORTH CAROLINA
Joseph Howell (Charlotte)
Jamie Peebles (Winston-Salem)
Magdala Simon-Poplin (Locust)
NORTH DAKOTA
Sonam Dekyi (Fargo)
Jordan Karlstad (Grand Forks)
Emily O’Rourke (Bismark)
Katherine Rinkenberger (Grand Forks)
Susan White (Grand Forks)
OAKLAHOMA
Brianna Arnold (Tulsa)
Courtney Ayres (Tusla)
Frank Miller (Tulsa)
Jerry Payne (Lawton)
Stephanie Seman (Lawton)
Jovanne Sinkler (New Orleans)
Brian Stephenson (Lawton)
Don Tram (Tulsa)
OHIO
Adrienne Hohman (Bowling Green)
Bradley Johnston (Dayton)
Valerie Middleton (Columbus)
Jessica Smith (Piqua)
OREGON
Hyejin Lee (Willsonville)
PENNSYLVANIA
Ryan Collison (York)
Zachariah Fortuna (Reading)
Vaughn Leftwich (Erie)
Katherine McKissick (Sayre)
Jinal Patel (Reading)
Jessica Ritzman (Johnstown)
Lydia Ruefthaler (Erie)
Nicole Sabella (Bryn Mawr)
Ashley Wilson (Sayre)
Maggie Woodard (Erie)
SOUTH DAKOTA
Kylie Gross (Sioux Falls)
Amanda Kronberg (Sioux Falls)
TENNESSEE
Minnie Brewer (Knoxville)
Kylie Broadbent (Memphis)
Chelsea Cartwright (Knoxville)
Melissa Schupp (Cookeville)
TEXAS
Stephanie Anguiano-Zarate (El Paso)
Laura Choi (Houston)
Lauren Damon (Fort Worth)
Anuka Das (Houston)
Jessica Drewfs (Houston)
Hager Elkobani (Austin)
Stephanie Jimenez (Lubbock)
Hsin-Yi Lin (Houston)
Sydney Luce (Tyler)
Tien Luu Hughes (Houston)
Samantha Mckelroy (Galveston)
Nga Nguyen (Austin)
Chinelo Okeke (Houston)
Raul Rodriguez (Brownsville)
Sara Ross (Mt. Pleasant)
Karen Tong (Houston)
UTAH
Jason Davis (Ogden)
Hayley Steed (Ogden)
VIRGINIA
Kierra Cooke (Richmond)
Halee Mason (Fisherville)
Joshua Williams (Fisherville)
WASHINGTON
Kathleen Cartmell (Wenatche)
Christy Dore (Seattle)
Constantine Peterson (Toppenish)
Michelle TeVelde (Wenatche)
WEST VIRGINIA
Kathryn Lopez (Morgantown)
WISSCONSON
Denise Gilbertson (Madison)
Emily Henn (Milwaukee)
Jennifer Hughes (Milwaukee)
Zahira Jadavji (Marshfield)
Teri Kopish (Appleton)
Madeline Lamb (Milwaukee)
Christina Myer (Marshfield)
Iryna Sidarenka (Madison)
Rochelle Watkins (Eau Claire)