Outpatient Lab Frequently Asked Questions

Akron Children’s Hospital offers outpatient laboratory services specialized for infants, adolescents, and teenagers. Locations include Akron, Beachwood, Boardman, Boston Heights, Mansfield, Medina, North Canton, Ravenna, Warren and Wooster.

Lab hours vary by location, generally open Monday to Friday, with some locations closed on weekends. Walk-ins are welcome, and appointments can be scheduled by calling 330-543-2778 (option 3). For more information, visit the Outpatient Laboratory page.

See below for the most asked questions about outpatient lab services at Akron Children’s Hospital.

Where can I get a collection container for my child’s specimen?
You can obtain a collection container from your provider’s office or any of our Outpatient Lab locations. Click to view Outpatient Lab locations and hours: Laboratory Services | Akron Children’s

Where can I go to drop off a specimen?
You can drop a specimen off at any of our Outpatient Lab Locations. Please make sure the patient’s name and date of birth are clearly marked on the container along with the date and time the specimen was collected (include am or pm). Click to view Outpatient Lab locations and hours: Laboratory Services | Akron Children’s

Where can I go to be drawn?
There are Outpatient Labs on both our Akron and Mahoning Valley hospital campuses. There are also Outpatient Lab locations in our Health Centers. Click to view Outpatient Lab locations and hours: Laboratory Services | Akron Children’s

How do I schedule a Glucose Tolerance/Challenge Test?
Glucose Tolerance/Challenge testing is performed only at the Akron and Mahoning Valley hospital campuses. For testing on the Akron Campus, please call 330-543-8573, option 2. For testing at the Mahoning Valley Campus, please call 330-746-9623.

How do I schedule a Sweat Chloride Test?
Sweat Chloride testing is only performed at the Akron campus. To schedule, please call 330-543-8573, option 2.

Who can I call if I have questions before I come to be drawn?
For testing on the Akron Campus, please call 330-543-8573, option 4. For testing at the Mahoning Valley Campus, please call 330-746-9623.

Do I need an appointment?
Appointments are not needed, and walk-ins are always welcome. Walk-ins are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you wish to schedule an appointment for a blood draw, please call our Appointment Center at 330-543-2778, option 3. The Appointment Center can’t schedule Sweat Chloride or Glucose Tolerance/Challenge Testing.

I’m an adult. Can I have my blood drawn at an Akron Children’s Outpatient Lab location?
Yes, you can! Our phlebotomists are skilled at drawing patients of all ages. Many of our hospital departments see adult patients and send them to us to be drawn. Our employees frequently come to us to have their labs drawn as well.

What do I need to bring with me to be registered?
Please bring your insurance card and a photo ID with you. If your orders are not from an Akron Children’s provider, we will also need a paper copy of them.

How long will I have to wait?
We are not able to predict a wait time since some patient draws may require extra help and need more time than others. Our busiest times tend to be late morning/lunch time and late afternoon, after children are dismissed from school.

Can I go to an Akron Children’s Pediatrics (ACP) office to have my blood drawn?
If you’re an ACP patient and your provider orders labs at your visit, there is a good chance that staff in the office will be able to collect the specimen. If they can’t, they will direct you to an Outpatient Lab location.

Can I eat and drink before having my blood drawn?
Your provider should give you instructions when they order the bloodwork. For pediatric patients, many providers do not care if the patient is fasting for a Glucose or Lipid panel. For adults, you will almost always be instructed to fast for these tests. If you are uncertain, please contact your provider’s office for instructions.

My orders are in Epic at Summa, University Hospitals, Metro, Cleveland Clinic, or another health system. Can you see them?
Even though Akron Children’s is on Epic, we are not able to view orders in other hospitals’ Epic systems. Epic has an application called Care Everywhere that lets your provider see your history, including completed lab results, to provide treatment but we can’t see your pending orders. You will need to provide us with a paper copy of your orders.

Do I need to bring orders from my provider with me?
If an Akron Children’s provider ordered your tests, they are in our Epic system and you don’t need to bring them. If your orders were not entered by an Akron Children’s Hospital provider in our Akron Children’s Hospital Epic system, you will need to bring a paper copy of your orders. We can’t see pending orders in other hospitals’ Epic systems.

How many vials of blood will you draw?
Many tests can share a vial, so we do not normally need to draw one vial for each test. We have a Maximum Allowable Blood Draw Volume policy that is based on the child’s weight to ensure we don’t draw too much blood. If we need more blood than we can safely draw, as outlined in the policy, we will ask the ordering provider to prioritize the testing to be drawn that day and have you return after at least three days to be drawn for the remainder of the tests.

My child is special needs. Will you be able to draw them?
Our staff are skilled at drawing special needs patients! Please let us know if you think additional help will be needed to hold your child. Our staff will call in another staff member to help hold an arm so the draw can be performed, but we can’t restrain a child. If you anticipate that more help will be needed, we recommend you bring a second person along to help hold. We also recommend that you don’t come on Saturday or at our busiest times which tend to be late morning/lunch time and late afternoon, after children are dismissed from school. We will draw provided we don’t think the situation is going to cause harm to you, your child, or the phlebotomist.

How late can I come for a blood draw?
We kindly ask that you arrive 15 minutes before our posted closing time. Please click here for Outpatient Lab locations and hours: Laboratory Services | Akron Children’s. Note the Outpatient Labs at the Health Centers are closed daily from 12:00 to 1:00 pm for lunch.

How will my child’s blood be drawn?
Blood is drawn either by venipuncture or capillary stick from a finger or heel, depending on the patient’s age, the test ordered, and the volume of blood needed. Lab staff do not perform arterial sticks and do not draw from a peripheral IV, port, indwelling catheter or line, PICC line, dialysis catheter, or fistula.

My child has orders for a cath urine culture. Can this be collected in the Outpatient Lab?
No, lab staff can’t perform a catheterization to collect a urine. Please discuss collection options with your provider. Lab staff can put a urine bag on an infant to collect a urine specimen.

My child is on medication and needs to have a timed draw following administration of the medication. Can this be done?
Yes, we can usually accommodate this and will do our best to make sure your child is drawn at the correct time. Please arrive early enough to be registered and keep in mind there could be several patients in front of you. You can also schedule an appointment with the Appointment Center at 330-543-2778, option 3. It is recommended that you schedule the appointment 15-20 minutes before the necessary draw time to allow for the registration process and the phlebotomist to prepare for the draw.

How do I get my child’s results?
The results will be sent to the ordering provider once testing is complete and they should contact you. If you are signed up for MyChart, you will also receive an email notification that results are available in MyChart. Click here to learn more about what you can do on MyChart and log in: MyChart - Login Page

How long will the testing take before I get results?
The results for many commonly ordered tests are released to MyChart the same day they are drawn. Some tests are sent out to a reference lab, and it can take 3-7 days for results to come back. Genetic test results can take four to six weeks. The Lab can’t release results to the patient or family, so please contact your provider with questions.

Who do I call if I have a question about my bill?
If you have a question regarding the cost of a laboratory test, please contact our Lab Billing Office at 330-543-8414. Please note that our staff can’t tell you if your insurance will cover the test or how much they will pay. If you need to set up a payment plan, you can sign up on Patient Portal - AccessOne. You can also contact a financial counselor by calling 330-543-2455.

I am just dropping a specimen off and don’t need to be drawn. Why do I need to wait in line?
Patients, including employees, are seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. Even if you don’t need drawn, you have to be registered so your specimen can be properly labeled.