For Joseph Khoury, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Regional Pathology Services is one of the crown jewels of the department.
“With RPS now in its 50th year, we have been delivering cutting-edge medical expertise to every community throughout Nebraska and beyond for decades,” Dr. Khoury said. “Integration of RPS into our clinical care delivery system in close partnership with Nebraska Medicine allows us to leverage the highly specialized expertise of our exceptional pathologists and laboratory professionals, as well as our continuous quality improvement processes, in ways that few academic outreach programs can.
“Additionally, relationships that RPS has fostered – for years and sometimes decades – have allowed us to stay in touch with and be responsive to the health care needs of Nebraskans across the state in times of great need such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Since its creation in 1974, Regional Pathology Services has evolved into one of the largest university-based laboratory service organizations in the Midwest. It provides laboratory services for more than 600 clinics, laboratories and critical access hospitals, not just in Nebraska and Western Iowa but in over 26 states. The scope and reach of services enable lifesaving tests closer to home for thousands for patients and bring more than 1 million tests to the UNMC campus every year.
“The focus on customer service is what makes us different from other national reference laboratory services,” Kirk Hansen, director of Regional Pathology Services, said.
In addition, the volume of testing has allowed the service to keep specialized and less-common testing in house.
“This results in better test turnaround time for Nebraska Medicine patients and additional learning opportunities for students, residents and clinical fellows at UNMC, which may otherwise not be available at academic institutions of our size,” said medical director Aleh (Oleg) Bobr, MD. “It also allows us to sustain offering cutting-edge technologies such as molecular diagnostics and cytogenetic testing.”
Recognizing the importance of reaching underserved communities, RPS has taken proactive steps to bridge the gap between advanced medical diagnostics and those in rural and underserved areas in the state.
“This initiative isn’t just about providing services,” Dr. Khoury said. “It’s about empowering communities with knowledge and resources to combat diseases effectively. In many cases, the availability of our specialty laboratory testing allowed rural hospitals and clinics to bring specialty physicians – in oncology, rheumatology and other disciplines – closer to the patient’s home.
“In addition, UNMC pathologists provide laboratory medical direction to several hospital laboratories as part of a comprehensive package. This brings unique expertise regarding laboratory management and test utilization to many critical access hospitals,” Hansen said.
The outreach program has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, RPS leaders said, providing support for research and education initiatives, as well as community engagement activities such as health fairs.
RPS also works closely with the Nebraska Public Health laboratory, creating a connection to many rural hospitals and clinics that allows detection and tracking of emerging communicable diseases.
Dr. Khoury sees great potential still ahead.
“Future initiatives include offering whole-slide imaging through our digital pathology program, which will allow our pathologists to be available to provide consultations on cases from anywhere in the state.
“As we mark our 50th year, RPS remains steadfast in its mission to redefine the boundaries of accessibility and excellence, guided by our north star which is our quadripartite mission of patient care, education, research and community health,” Dr. Khoury said.