Barbara L. Burch

Bio: Barbara Burch has over 25 years of experience in the clinical laboratory arena. During that time, she has worked as a generalist bench tech, a technical manager, an LIS manager, and a QA manager. She has started labs from the ground up and has designed and opened several new labs within a network. Burch also has experience developing interdisciplinary workflows and processes as part of an Epic implementation, and expertise in integrating workflows between nursing, clinical labs, clinical trials departments and laboratories to improve efficiency and documentation and to ensure compliance.

In her current role as Operations Manager for the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Burch is responsible for the technical operations of all of clinical labs, acquisition, and integration of new equipment and technologies. In doing so, she works with directors, department managers, and other divisions within the institution to develop workflow and communication processes that improve efficiency and quality, with a keen focus on Lean principles. Burch is also heavily involved in several major projects, including the development team for a next-generation LIS, the construction of a new laboratory medicine building, and six additional new labs in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center network.