A NEW Point-of-Care Lab for Charis!
Heart to Heart International to Complete Point of Care Lab Install for Charis Health Center, Mt. Juliet, TN
The HHI lab program aims to improve patient outcomes by implementing timely and accurate treatment protocols. Many Americans delay medical care due to cost and transportation barriers. HHI addresses these challenges by installing point-of-care laboratories in clinics allowing for quick, on-the-spot testing and results, enhancing diagnoses and patient outcomes.
Charis Health Center Executive Director Dr. Courtney Johnson stated: “The addition of our new point-of-care lab allows providers to make faster, more informed treatment decisions—especially for chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension—greatly improving efficiency and delivering better outcomes for our uninsured patients who can’t afford to wait.”
Charis Health Center is located at 2620 N. Mount Juliet Rd., Mount Juliet, TN. The laboratory installation will take place from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Training then runs Wednesday afternoon through Thursday, June 26, 2025, around 5:00 p.m.
HHI Senior Vice President of Programs Tenagashaw (Tena) Tiruneh had this to say: “This partnership embodies our commitment to the goals of our laboratory program and supports our mission of improving access to equitable healthcare in medically under-resourced communities.”
HHI with support from BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) will equip this health center with modern lab equipment, staff training, mentoring, technical support, and supplies and reagents for the first 12 months. All installed equipment becomes the clinic’s permanent property.
With the installation of a point-of-care lab at a charitable health clinic, patients don’t have to make additional arrangements for transportation or pay the typical high costs associated with lab testing. This approach effectively reduces barriers, provides frequent testing at a patient’s health clinic promoting a higher level of engagement between the patients and their healthcare providers, and increases the likelihood of patients following clinical and treatment advice. Lab tests performed at the time of clinic visits allow for more efficient workflow processes, expeditious decision-making and a better treatment plan. Immediate availability of results allows patients to be treated and on their way to recovery.
HHI Director of the Laboratory Program Heidi Schutz added: “With our point-of-care lab program, Charis Health Center will gain the instrumentation, reagents and supplies, training, and mentoring needed to enable them in providing rapid, accurate laboratory results to aid in diagnosis and treatment decisions for their patients all within the same visit.”