Urinalysis Customer Profile - Rutland Regional Medical Center

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Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC), founded in 1896 as Rutland Hospital, is Vermont’s largest community hospital. With 145 inpatient beds and a dedicated team of approximately 1,700 employees, RRMC is nationally recognized for its commitment to patient-centered care across southern and central Vermont and eastern New York.

The RRMC Laboratory is a vital part of the hospital’s operations. Accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB), the lab upholds rigorous standards for quality and patient safety. With nearly 35 experienced professionals utilizing advanced automation technology, the lab provides accurate, timely diagnostic testing for all hospital departments, off-campus clinics and the surrounding community.

The Problem
Manual Urinalysis Limitations

Before October 2019, RRMC’s laboratory utilized an automated analyzer for urine chemistry strip testing, while urine sediment analysis was performed manually using brightfield microscopy. According to Chris Wielis, MLS, Advanced Technical Specialist for Hematology & Chemistry, this partially manual and non-integrated urinalysis workflow was “very time-consuming, labor-intensive, and lacked consistency.” In response to the growing demand for operational efficiency and the benefits of automation, RRMC laboratory recognized a clear need to modernize its urinalysis processes.

The Solution
Automating Urinalysis with the Sysmex UN-Series™

With clearly defined priorities, RRMC undertook a thorough evaluation of automated urinalysis offerings. Their goal was to identify a urinalysis solution that delivered cost efficiency, streamlined workflows, walk-away capability and user-friendly operation. Equally important were consistent and reliable results, faster turnaround times and the ability to handle high testing volumes.

Following this evaluation, the Sysmex UN-Series stood out as the solution offering the highest value. In October 2019, RRMC became the first U.S. facility to implement the UN-2000™-110 configuration, which includes the UF-5000™ Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer and the UD-10™ Fully Automated Digital Imaging Device. This setup enables complete automation of urine sediment analysis, significantly reducing the need for manual microscopy.

Further building on this success, RRMC advanced to the UN-3000™ configuration in March 2021 by integrating the CLINITEK Novus® Urine Chemistry Analyzer. This upgrade marked the completion of their transition to a fully automated, integrated urinalysis workflow.

Unlocking measurable workflow improvements with Sysmex Urinalysis Automation

Rutland Regional Medical Center has significantly improved its urinalysis workflow since adopting its Sysmex UN-Series solution. According to Wielis, Sysmex automation has greatly streamlined urine sample processing, allowing technologists to focus on more complex, value-added tasks in the lab. “The UN-3000 allows our staff to load UA samples, walk away and concentrate on other areas like hematology and coagulation. The technologists are no longer tied to microscopes, evening shift workloads have decreased, technologist fatigue is less of a concern and results are now standardized, boosting both clinical confidence and operational sustainability.”

RRMC is also benefiting from the UF-5000’s fluorescent flow cytometry technology that enhances accuracy and consistency by reducing the need for manual microscopy interpretation and eliminates steps like dilutions and pre-warming for common interferences. The UN-3000 handles high testing volumes efficiently, lowering operational costs and easing staffing pressures. Previously, urinalysis took about 15 minutes per sample, with 89% of samples requiring manual review. Now with Sysmex technology, the average UA completion time has dropped to just five minutes with 85% of samples being auto-verified and less than 1% needing manual microscopy. In 2024 alone, Wielis estimates more than 1,300 hours of manual review time were saved—clear evidence that Sysmex automation is enhancing efficiency, reducing labor demands and enabling RRMC’s laboratory to focus on its core mission: delivering high-quality patient care. By leading the way in urinalysis automation, RRMC continues to set a high standard for laboratory excellence in community healthcare. Their journey offers a compelling model for institutions seeking to modernize and optimize urinalysis workflows with Sysmex’s UN-Series Automated Urinalysis Solution.

Key Outcomes
• Achieved 85% autoverification rate with less than 1% requiring manual microscopy
• Streamlined operations and reduced turnaround times to an average of five minutes per sample
• Reallocated resources to support broader lab functions

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