Medical group labs renew accreditation

Published May 5, 2011
By Lt. Col. Daniel Bessmer
81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 81st Medical Group's pathology and clinical laboratory, blood gas laboratory and genetics laboratory all have received two-year reaccreditations after undergoing recent inspections by the College of American Pathologists.

Each lab was inspected by teams representing the CAP, which is widely recognized as the gold standard for medical laboratory practices. The inspectors focused on laboratory policies and practices, including quality assurance systems, testing accuracy and proficiency, personnel and safety. The inspection team evaluated more than 1,500 exacting standards to ensure that the highest industry standards were met.

In addition, the blood donor center and blood bank were inspected by the American Association of Blood Banks and were subjected to hundreds of additional standards. The inspectors praised the level of quality in the blood services and especially noted their excellent training program. The blood donor center is instrumental in providing blood for patient care at the hospital as well as contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In keeping with the CAP's accreditation terms, the director of accreditation and regulatory affairs tasked the 81st MDG's clinical laboratory to provide a team of subject-matter experts to perform an accreditation inspection of the Ochsner Medical Center's medical laboratory in Baton Rouge, La. This peer-review function allows CAP-accredited laboratories to participate in enforcing compliance with standards while keeping abreast of best practices throughout the medical laboratory industry.

Members of the Keesler team who conducted the inspection April 25-26 are Lt. Col. Daniel Bessmer; Capts. Nicholas Lancia, Allison Bartmier, Mary Caldwell and Linda Novak, and civilians Ben Lorhbach and Shelia Gros.