Laboratory

When lab testing is done at Benewah Community Hospital, your physician will get the results in a more timely manner. This allows for a more prompt diagnosis and treatment, but it also offers you peace of mind knowing that there is no travel time required of you.

Benewah Community Hospital’s lab performs several areas of testing including, but not limited to, complete bloLaboratoryod counts, blood banking, immunology, and general chemistry. We also perform pre-employment drug screens for employers and breath-alcohol tests for law enforcement.

The lab is open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays. There is no appointment necessary; all lab work is done on a first-come, first-served basis.

All lab work requires a written order by a doctor or provider. Your results will be relayed to your physician who will then communicate the results to you in a timely manner.

Preparing for Your Test

We offer several different types of testing and some can have specific preparation on your part. It’s important to education yourself when getting ready for a lab test.

Areas of testing include:

  • Hematology – Complete blood counts to measure red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Reticulocyte counts that monitor your body’s red cell production rate and sedimentation rate to help determine inflammation.
  • Coagulation studies – A measure of how fast your blood will clot.
  • Blood banking to determine blood type and verify that blood products patients might need are compatible and safe.
  • Immunology – Specialized tests to quickly help determine if you have common illnesses like strep throat, mononucleosis, the flu, and other common viruses.
  • Urinalysis – Helps in monitoring your body’s filtering systems, hydration status, and urine infections.
  • General chemistry – Tests that monitor your body systems function like kidney, liver, heart, lungs, and thyroid. Also included in chemistry analysis is diabetic/glucose control, cholesterol testing and medication levels for drugs your doctor might prescribe. *Some types of general chemistry tests require fasting, such as a lipid panel. When fasting, water is okay, and patients may sip on one cup of black coffee without cream or sugar. A typical fast lasts 10-14 hours.*

In addition to tests done on-site, specialty testing and low-volume test are collected and processed here and sent to a reference laboratory in Spokane. If you’re curious about whether a specific test can be done here but don’t see it listed above, please call us at (208) 245-7078.