From analyzing one test tube in eight hours back in 1924 to testing thousands of samples each day in 2024, the laboratory at Spartanburg Medical Center has come a long way.  

This year, Spartanburg Regional's Laboratory Services department is celebrating 100 years of providing patient services.  

A centennial celebration was held in April to bring together past and current lab services associates to mark the occasion and celebrate the progress through the decades.  

A food truck, inflatable games, cornhole and a dunk tank brought a carnival-style party to Spartanburg Medical Center's campus. At the same time, historic photo albums and a digital photo slideshow helped attendees reminisce on the past and look toward the future. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 70% of today’s medical decisions depend on laboratory test results. 

"We have a very important role," said Jessica Odom, the director of laboratory services. "We perform approximately seven million tests per year just in our lab at Spartanburg Medical Center, so being able to carry that responsibility for the last 100 years has been amazing."  

Lab services are comprehensive, with staff collecting and performing many tests on-site. The labs provide safe and accurate tests such as complete blood count, basic metabolic panel, comprehensive metabolic panel, COVID-19 PCR test, thyroid-stimulating hormone, lipid panel, hemoglobin A1C and more. 

Anatomic pathology, clinical lab, transfusion services, morgue, and specimen collection are the five main divisions of the laboratory to support the functions of the healthcare system. Spartanburg Medical Center is developing a molecular pathology department to detect, quantify and analyze genes, proteins or other molecules in a genome that may indicate infectious diseases or conditions such as cancer. 

The lab is accredited by the: 

• Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) 
• College of American Pathologists (CAP) 
• Det Norske Veritas, Inc (DNV) 

Spartanburg Regional now operates labs at Spartanburg Medical Center, Spartanburg Medical Center – Mary Black Campus, Pelham Medical Center, Cherokee Medical Center and Union Medical Center. Lab services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week.