Smith Recognized For 40 Years Of Service

Joann Smith has always found the subject of science fascinating. So it was no surprise to her when a high school career-finding activity suggested she pursue a career in IT. During her senior year, each student got a paper career-wheel that plotted their responses to different questions about their interests and talents. The wheel determined she would be a good fit for a career in a lab or research. At the time, Smith did not realize how right the wheel would turn out to be.

This month, Smith was recognized for reaching her career milestone of 40-yearsof- service as a lab technologist and supervisor at Roosevelt Medical Center. “I still have my career-wheel and after all of these years, I can say it led me to a profession I still love,” she laughed.

Smith plays a vital role in patient care that is both routine and emergent and works within all areas of the facility. In the morning, she performs bloodwork on long-term care patients, works in the emergency room and hospital when needed and daily with the clinic. Her department also completes all staff covid testing and tracking.

“Joann is a committed leader within RMC. Her vast knowledge of her field and her dedication to her patients and the staff has been nothing short of remarkable over the years,” said Audrey Stromberg, administrator.

Smith’s love for science developed early in her youth. Growing up in Beach, North Dakota, she dreamt of becoming an astronomer. In her teens, she took an interest in laboratory work and enrolled in the Medical Institute of Minnesota where she earned her degree in medical laboratory sciences. Before graduating from school, she applied to several healthcare facilities before beginning an internship in Wisconsin. She was soon hired by RMC and arrived to find a lab that had been vacated for three months. Along with another newly hired technologist, she was tasked with organizing the lab and rose to the position of supervisor in 1992.

“I love going through the investigative process and asking questions. It’s like solving a mystery when you are helping the provider gather information to determine a patient’s diagnosis,” Smith said.

Over the last four decades, Smith has seen many changes in her field. Technology has dramatically changed the way labs operate, creating more efficiency with automation taking the place of testing once performed manually.

The interfacing of instruments and computer systems has created seamless patient record keeping and communication while increasing the number of tests that can be completed in a day. “We used to have to watch instruments like the vibrometer move back and forth and time the movements when checking for how fast blood would clot. Today, machines automate all of it and we can walk away and perform other tasks simultaneously,” she added. Back then, running a complete blood count on a patient could take 10 minutes or more with the technologist watching and counting the process. Today, the blood is placed in a machine and results are available in about one minute.

Smith said that in her early years, she used to enjoy watching the chemical reactions take place in test tubes with color changes serving as a metric for information. When she started at RMC in 1981, the laboratory consisted of her and a supervisor working in a small room near the emergency room. In 1989, the lab was relocated downstairs where it has remained for 32 years. In the next few weeks, following the facility’s remodel project, the lab will once again be located upstairs in a new suite.

For the last 29 years, she has worked with Lori Monson. Together, they have shared call-time for weekends and nights and continued to keep pace with technology and best practices. “Over the years we have formed not only a strong working relationship but also a great friendship. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her,” said Monson.

As a manager and member of the medical staff team, Smith is well respected among her peers. “The providers and nursing staff often call her for her knowledge. She puts the facility and her patients’ needs above her own and is always willing to go the extra mile in everything she does,” Monson said.

While Smith enjoys the science rooted in her work, it is her contribution to patient care that gives her work the most meaning. She likes knowing her patients on a more personal level and can remember when many of them were born.

“I think the secret to success in any career is to love what you do, and I was lucky enough to find that in the lab at RMC,” Smith said.