HOSPITAL LAB RECEIVES TWO-YEAR ACCREDITATON

The laboratory at Southeast Missouri Hospital has been awarded a two-year accreditation by the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists, based on results of a recent on-site inspection.

Southeast's lab is one of more than 4,000 CAP-accredited laboratories nationwide. The accreditation program began in the 1960s and is recognized by the federal government as being equal or more stringent than the government's own inspection program.

"The inspection process is a rigorous one," said lab director Tony Williams. He explained that inspectors examine the records and quality control of the lab for the preceding two years, as well as the education and qualifications of the staff, the adequacy of the facilities, the equipment, laboratory safety and laboratory management, to determine how well a laboratory is serving the patient.

Williams said that Southeast's laboratory last year performed 260,176 clinical lab tests.

Earlier this year, Southeast's outreach laboratory at Doctors' Park was also awarded a two-year accreditation by the same organization.