FCMC First Hospital in Nation to Offer Cepheid GI Pathogen Panel

Floyd County Medical Center (FCMC) has announced they are the first hospital in the nation to offer the Xpert® GI Pathogen Panel by Cepheid.

Travis Haberkorn (BA, MLT), laboratory director at FCMC, says the Xpert® GI Panel is strategically focused on high-impact pathogens, organisms selected because their rapid and accurate detection directly influences individual patient management and broader public health decisions. (Including Salmonella species, Shigella/EIEC, Campylobacter species, STEC (via Shiga toxins), Yersinia species, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Norovirus).

By targeting pathogens that meaningfully affect clinical care, the panel promotes antimicrobial stewardship; enables rapid public health response when needed; enhances infection prevention and control measures; supports timely and appropriate treatment decisions,

Haberkorn says implementation of the Xpert® GI panel will provide more accurate results in a fraction of the time for patients. It also supports thoughtful antibiotic use by giving clinicians fast, dependable results.

He explains: “This clinically driven approach ensures relevant, cost-effective diagnostics that deliver high-value results, improving patient outcomes while supporting responsible healthcare resource utilization.”

FCMC introduced the Cepheid GeneXpert ® molecular instrument to its laboratory last fall. One of the primary functions is PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing, but it also runs important tests for women’s health and infectious diseases.

This innovative instrument can deliver test results within hours instead of days.