NORDX provides full medical laboratory testing

Last October, South Portland-based Northern Diagnostics Laboratories (NorDx) opened a satellite clinical reference laboratory at 700 Mt. Hope Ave. in Bangor. Located in Suite 332 at Evergreen Woods, the laboratory provides walk-in specimen collection and rapid turn-around testing for a variety of laboratory tests.

First licensed in the late 1970s and affiliated with the Maine Medical Center in Portland, NorDx provides reference laboratory services throughout northern New England.

To improve service to Bangor-area residents, NorDx expanded its Bangor specimen collection facility to include a laboratory that performs STAT and routine testing in hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, and chemistry. Test results are available the same day for those standard laboratory tests that are performed locally.

Laura Brainerd, M.T. (Medical Technologist), supervises the Bangor laboratory, while Gene R. Putz, M.D., serves as laboratory director. Also working at the Bangor laboratory are Merla Roy, a medical assistant and phlebotomist, and George Zitaner, a medical supply courier.

Sales representative Nate Boya provides marketing and client support in the greater Bangor area and throughout Maine north and east of Augusta.

According to Brainerd, the Bangor laboratory has been inspected and certified by the state. NorDx participates in several proficiency-testing and quality-control programs. “State inspection and certification indicate that the laboratory meets rigid standards designed to assure the quality of testing and personnel,” Brainerd said.

This certification allows testing for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other third-party insurers like Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maine.

Patients referred for laboratory testing by physicians and other licensed medical practitioners need no appointment to have speciments collected for testing at either the Bangor or South Portland laboratory. Specimens not tested in Bangor are transported to South Portland, where most specimens will be tested overnight. The results are transmitted to Bangor by computer and are delivered by a courier the next morning.

For non-ambulatory patients, NorDx can provide “curbside” service at its Evergreen Woods facility.

“We’re trying to make it (medical testing) easier for people who have a problem with waiting or driving,” Brainerd said.

Besides its phlebotomy and laboratory services, NorDx can provide its clients with in-service programs in laboratory-related topics and can work with physicians to develop specific test profiles for their patients.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, NorDx accepts payment by check, cash, Mastercard, or Visa. The laboratory will bill Medicare, Medicaid, or Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Appointments, special arrangements, and any additional information are available by contacting NorDx at 947-2592 or 947-2593.