Curtis R. Cruz
Dayton Children's
DAYTON,OH
17
years of professional experience
Motivated, detail-oriented, and ASCP-certified professional with 15+ years of experience supervising day-to-day laboratory operations, building top-performing teams, and conducting diagnostic testing while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Proven record of managing a high-value budget and leading Continuous Process Improvement projects to increase workflow efficiency and meet lab’s performance and qualitative specifications. Adept at conducting periodic evaluations to prepare appraisal reports and provide staff members with constructive feedback and professional development opportunities.
Work History
Laboratory Technician
3 Years 7 Months- Provided timely, high-complexity laboratory testing for a premier pediatric Level I Trauma Center, supporting 181 inpatient beds, 850K outpatient visits, and 98K emergency department visits annually.
- Performed high-complexity testing across Chemistry, Hematology, Urinalysis, Coagulation, Microbiology, and Blood Bank.
- Operated and maintained laboratory analyzers from Siemens, Beckman Coulter, Roche, and Grifols, ensuring accurate and timely patient results.
- Performed specialized testing including body fluid analysis, microbiological cultures, Gram stain preparation and interpretation, and blood product processing and distribution.
- Supported critical patient care by delivering accurate laboratory results and blood products in a high-volume, fast-paced trauma center environment.
Immunology Technician
3 Years- Lead operations for the Air Force’s sole clinical reference laboratory, supervising HIV testing operations and a team of 3 military and civilian personnel supporting 200 DoD Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and 9.4M beneficiaries.
- Execute infectious disease and medical readiness testing, ensuring specimen integrity and accurate, timely results that support patient diagnosis, treatment decisions, and Tri-Service deployments.
- Enforce laboratory policies, procedures, and quality standards, evaluating 86 quality-assurance checklist items to maintain compliance with national accreditation requirements and regulatory guidelines.
- Oversee laboratory supply and resource management, monitoring inventory consumption, expiration dates, and after-hours temperature-monitoring systems to safeguard critical resources and maintain uninterrupted laboratory capabilities.
Forensic Toxicology Technician
4 Years 7 Months- Performed forensic toxicology testing using Agilent GC/MS instrumentation to support ground, sea, and air mishap investigations for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.
- Processed biological specimens while maintaining strict chain-of-custody procedures critical to fitness-for-duty determinations, forensic investigations, and legal proceedings.
- Performed post-mortem and human-performance testing, including testing associated with military fatalities, accidents, and mishap investigations.
- Prepared and analyzed specimens according to established laboratory procedures, ensuring accurate, reliable, and defensible analytical results.
- Operated, maintained, and troubleshot Agilent GC/MS instrumentation, performing preventative maintenance to ensure equipment reliability and analytical accuracy.
- Managed preventative maintenance and internal proficiency programs to verify instrument performance and analytical accuracy.
- Supported laboratory instrumentation and analytical equipment valued at approximately $9.3 million.
- Maintained detailed documentation throughout specimen processing and analytical workflows to preserve traceability, chain of custody, and result integrity.
Blood Bank Technician
1 Year 1 Month- Provided technical oversight of handling and safeguarding of 220K blood products. Monitored safety of 7K transfusions. Complied with CAP, American Association of Blood Banks, JCAHO, FDA & Health Services Inspection criteria. Performed blood typing, compatibility analysis, antibody screen/identification. Ensured 97% accuracy rate/20K procedures.
- Appointed section safety monitor. Evaluated program and performed self-inspections. Ensured lab maintained HSI/OSHA standards
Emergency Department Stat Laboratory Technician
2 Years 9 Months- Expedited ER sample processing; resulted 117K analytes and decreased result wait time 65% below national standard. Performed/reviewed 120 QC tests daily; provided 100% accuracy on 6 instruments. Achieved 100% on CAP proficiency survey/3 samples; eclipsed national avg by 20%. Fully qualified ER lab tech/17 platforms/312 tasks. - Supervised off-shift ER lab ops consisting of 3 members which averaged 202 patient specimens with a 26 minute urgent turn around time. Executed maintenance on 6 chemistry instruments valued at $1.5M; 30 tasks daily, ensured quality results and equipment function.
Medical Laboratory Technician
2 Years- Supported 6 staff performing phlebotomies on 7 wards. Accessioned, processed and distributed over 650K samples. Supported 9 lab departments/7 reference laboratories.
- Provided guidance to over 715 healthcare providers/618K patients on proper specimen collections and storage. Trained 4TO Phase II students; taught central operations procedures;
- Instructed personnel on sample collections.
Education
MLT
Associate of Science
(AETC)
(AETC)
AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
AF Outstanding Unit Award, AF Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal
Timeline
Laboratory Technician
Dayton Children's
03.2023 - CurrentRead More
Immunology Technician
USAFSAM Epi Lab
03.2020 - 03.2023Read More
Forensic Toxicology Technician
Armed Forces Medical Examiners System, Division of Forensic Toxicology
08.2015 - 03.2020Read More
Blood Bank Technician
Clinical Laboratory
10.2014 - 11.2015Read More
Emergency Department Stat Laboratory Technician
Clinical Laboratory
01.2012 - 10.2014Read More
Medical Laboratory Technician
Clinical Laboratory
01.2010 - 01.2012Read More
Basic Military Training
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Medical Laboratory Apprentice Technical School (Phase I)
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Medical Laboratory Apprentice Technical School (Phase II)
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Airman Leadership School
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SEJPME 1
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ASCP
MLT
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CCAF Medical Laboratory
Associate of Science
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