Released on: February 26, 2008, 7:59 am

Press Release Author: Abbott

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: * Labs Are Vital(TM) launched a Facebook group and
student-focused Web
site, http://www.LabScienceCareers.com, to inform students about career
opportunities in clinical lab sciences.
* As part of the Facebook initiative, high school and college students can
compete to win scholarships valued at up to $2,500 by submitting a
video, advertisement, or T-shirt design that encourages others to
consider careers in laboratory medicine.
* Labs Are Vital(TM) is a multi-pronged, multi-year education and
awareness program sponsored by Abbott that is designed to highlight the
critical role laboratory professionals play in healthcare and to address
the issues facing laboratories today.
* Recruiting the next generation of laboratory professionals is one of the
many goals of the Labs Are Vital program, due to the workforce shortage
of laboratory professionals in the field.
* Clinical laboratory professionals play a leading role in monitoring
health, diagnosing diseases, and assessing the treatment of patients.
* Visit http://www.LabScienceCareers.com for complete contest details.



Press Release Body: In an effort to attract young people to the clinical laboratory
profession, Labs Are Vital(TM), an initiative sponsored by Abbott, has
tapped into Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, to reach out to
more than four million students with an interest in life sciences.


* Facebook is an online network that connects young people with friends
and other peers who work, study and live around them, and is being used
as a tool to educate high school and college students about career
opportunities in the clinical laboratory science profession.

A Facebook page, sponsored by Labs Are Vital, will enable interested,
career-minded high school and college students to meet clinical lab science
students or recent graduates and learn about the benefits and challenges of
the profession from their peers.

Recruitment is one of many goals of the Labs Are Vital program. Others
include improving the visibility of the clinical lab and demonstrating the
value of the lab to the greater healthcare community.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has been joined by many of the most influential and
professional organizations in the clinical lab, who share these goals,
including: Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), American
Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), American Society for
Clinical Pathology (ASCP), American Medical Technologists (AMT), American
Association of Bioanalysts (AAB), American Association for Clinical
Chemistry (AACC), Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), and
AABB,.

According to statistics compiled by ASCP, there currently may be as
many as 40,000 unfilled clinical laboratory jobs in the United States. The
shortage of clinical lab scientists is a serious problem, and the stakes
are high. According to U.S. Department of Labor projections, approximately
13,800 medical laboratory professionals will be needed every year through
2012 to fill vacant positions. Unfortunately, fewer than 5,000
professionals are graduating from educational programs each year.

Clinical laboratory professionals play a leading role in monitoring
health, diagnosing diseases, and assessing the treatment of patients. More
than 70 percent of the objective information used to make diagnostic
decisions is derived from the clinical lab. This tremendous contribution
comes at a great value: most clinical labs take up less than 5 percent of a
hospital\'s operating budget.

Online Scholarship Contest and Other Recruitment Programs:

As part of the Facebook initiative, the Labs Are Vital collaboration is
also offering an online scholarship contest for college and high school
students. Abbott is joined in this effort by ASCLS, APHL, and Blood
Systems, Inc.

Contest entrants must submit a video, advertisement, or T-shirt design
that encourages others to consider careers in laboratory medicine.
Submissions selected for the semi-finalist category will be available to
view online where Facebook members will vote on those that most creatively
illustrate why clinical lab science is cutting-edge and how laboratorians
make a difference.

Other recruitment activities include the launch of a student-focused
Web site, http://www.LabScienceCareers.com, where students can find
information on career opportunities and educational programs in clinical
lab sciences.

About Labs Are Vital(TM):

Labs Are Vital is a multi-pronged, multi-year education and awareness
program sponsored by Abbott that is designed to highlight the critical role
that laboratory professionals play in healthcare and to address the issues
facing laboratories today. The program -- which includes a public awareness
campaign, an Instrument Donation Program, and a variety of Web-based
resources for laboratory professionals -- focuses attention on the
life-saving work clinical laboratory scientists provide in diagnosing
disease and improving health outcomes

Quotes:

\"Social media have been used successfully by Fortune 500 companies in
highly targeted recruitment efforts, and we think it\'s an innovative way to
address the labor shortage we\'re facing in the clinical laboratory
sciences. \"The primary benefit of Facebook is the peer-to-peer outreach
that puts clinical lab science students and professionals in contact with
students who may not be aware of the exciting career opportunities in
clinical labs, public health labs, and transfusion medicine.\"

\"One of the most critical components to improving some of the problems
that face the clinical lab sciences is a broad communications effort
initiated by Labs Are Vital to ensure current and future generations
understand the importance of the work lab professionals do everyday and
consider entering into the profession.\"

Paula Garrott, Ed.M., CLS (NCA), chair, Coordinating Council on the
Clinical Laboratory Workforce.


Web Site: http://www.labsarevital.com

Contact Details: Don Braakman
Public Affairs, Diagnostics
847-937-0080
Abbott
100 Abbott Park Road
Abbott Park, IL 60064-6048