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UnityPoint-St. Luke’s closing 73-year-old lab scientist program
The program ‘faced multiple obstacles,’ including decreased enrollment and a decline in students remaining with St. Luke’s after graduation
Vanessa Miller
Mar. 26, 2024 5:00 am, Updated: Mar. 26, 2024 10:00 am
Having already admitted students for the next academic year, UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital about a month ago surprised current and incoming students by announcing plans to close its 73-year-old Medical Laboratory Scientist program.
The 43-week program — training new medical laboratory scientists through hands-on clinical training inside St. Luke’s laboratories — officially will wrap at the end of the current school year in August, according to UnityPoint Health-Cedar Rapids spokeswoman Sarah Corizzo.
Students admitted for the 2024-25 academic year beginning in the fall will have to find another MLS program, but Corizzo said, “There are multiple programs within the area.”
Allen College in Waterloo, for example, is accredited by the National Accreditation Agency of Clinical Laboratory Services and is willing and able to accommodate St. Luke’s students in the next academic year — should they apply and meet entrance requirements, according to Corizzo.
Plus, students wouldn’t need to relocate for the Allen program, as it’s largely online and “clinical rotations can still be conducted within St. Luke’s Laboratory as St. Luke’s will remain a clinical site for Allen College and other educational institutions.”
The six current students, plus another six who months ago were accepted for the next academic year, learned of the program closure Feb. 28 via phone call and letter.
“This was not an easy decision,” Corizzo told The Gazette. “The MLS Program has been successful in the past but in recent years has faced multiple obstacles such as a decrease in enrollment and a decline in the number of students who stay within St. Luke’s Laboratory after graduating from the program.”
St. Luke’s program has collaborated with Iowa universities, colleges
The program historically has collaborated with multiple universities and colleges across Iowa — including the state’s public universities, Cornell College, Wartburg College, and Mt. Mercy University.
At Cornell, for example, students could get a bachelor’s degree and register as a medical technologist by completing three years at Cornell and then one year at St. Luke’s under the supervision of a staff pathologist.
The University of Northern Iowa offered the same style of program with St. Luke’s, as did Wartburg — which touts collaborations with other campuses as well, like Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines.
“The MLS program grants 32 credits to students who attend affiliated academic institutions, which can be utilized toward an overall baccalaureate degree at that institution,” according to a 2020 brochure for the St. Luke’s program. “A certificate of completion is awarded to all students who successfully complete the program.”
Tuition for the St. Luke’s program at that time was $6,000, according to the brochure. Hospital officials did not provide updated tuition expenses, given costs can vary depending on the type of program students pursue. And they didn’t detail how much the program costs to provide and thus how much St. Luke’s might save with its closure.
But, Corizzo said, to help affected students who enrolled in St. Luke’s program for the 2024-25 term, the hospital has offered to subsidize tuition expenses above its program costs “if they choose to enter Allen College’s MLS program.”
‘Critical shortage’ of lab scientists meets increased demand for testing
Allen College’s medical laboratory science undergraduate program offers a bachelor of health science degree for students interested in becoming medical laboratory scientists — who perform tests that analyze blood, urine, tissue, and other body specimens.
“The ability to relate to people, care about patient outcomes and display calm and reasoned judgment are essential qualities,” according to Allen College’s summary of the profession’s import. “Although medical laboratory scientists seldom have personal contact with patients, they play a major role in disease diagnosis and in monitoring therapy.”
Up to 70 percent of all clinical diagnoses stem from lab test results, according to St. Luke’s program, which offered courses titled, “Urinalysis/body fluids,” “Clinical hematology/coagulation,” and “Clinical microbiology.”
The National Institutes of Health last year published research focused on consequences of a “critical shortage of medical laboratory scientists and medical laboratory technicians to address an increasing demand for laboratory testing.”
“Training program closures, fewer student applicants, and financial decisions have contributed to staffing shortages,” according to the study. “Lack of visibility, low wages, and perceived lack of opportunities for upward career mobility contribute to challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified individuals and students who are unaware of laboratory medicine careers.”
Numerous health care providers across Iowa have multiple medical lab scientist job openings — including UnityPoint Health locations in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines; University of Iowa Health Care; Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames; and Trinity Health.
Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com