HEALTH CARE HEROES: Lab scientist on front lines of pandemic

"I don't think I'm a hero, but it makes you feel good when you're putting in these long hours and there's a lot of stress," he said.

Hanna, a medical laboratory scientist who supervises the lab at Family Health Care of Siouxland -- South Sioux City Clinic, is on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. When patients pull up their vehicles at the back of the clinic, Hanna leaves the lab, dons a new lab coat and gloves, along with an N95 mask, and heads outside to swab their nose or throat to test for influenza and strep throat, as well as the novel coronavirus. 

"I never expected to be going outside in Nebraska in the middle of winter and doing lab work in the middle of a blizzard," he said. 

Hanna, who began working as a medical laboratory scientist in 2005 after graduating from Briar Cliff University, has been with Family Health Care of Siouxland for the last 10 years. The South Sioux City native, however, didn't initially pursue a career in health care. In fact, before making the leap into medicine, he was working in the engineering and promotions department at a local TV station. He previously received a degree in sculpture and art history from the University of Nebraska Omaha.

"I just wasn't very happy doing what I was doing. I just felt like I wanted to do something more, so I decided to go back to school," said Hanna, who always had an interest in science. 

As a medical laboratory scientist, Hanna said he's on the diagnosing side of medicine, collecting a variety of samples and testing for "whatever the doctor's looking for."

"When they draw the blood, we do the chemistry panels and diagnostic tests. Lately, we collect the swabs for COVID and flu and strep and all that stuff. We tell the doctor what's wrong, I guess," he said.

Having procedures in place in preparation for a pandemic is just part of the job, but Hanna said "you never really think you're going to use them, either." Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, Hanna said he's busier than ever. 

"You put on all the stuff and you go outside and you collect (a sample). You come back inside and you have to take all of the stuff off. You have to keep all the different PPE separate so you're not contaminating stuff. At a certain point, it's just tedious," he said. "The minute you get everything off, you get back to work in the lab and somebody else pulls up out back."

Hanna said the PPE requirements and procedures are worth it, as he said none of the employees who work in the lab have contracted the virus. 

"Masks work. They really do," he said. 

While being a medical laboratory scientist isn't an easy job, Hanna said he really enjoys it. He encourages others looking for a career to consider it, as the profession is in high demand.

"They need more of us. There's never enough medical lab scientists. There's only five or six people at any of the schools here at a time," he said. "It's a good career choice."