Genetics lab accredited Published July 12, 2007 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Air Force Medical Genetics Laboratory at Keesler Medical Center has been awarded accreditation by the College of American Pathologist's Commission on Laboratory Accreditation. The Keesler facility is among more than 6,000 CAP-accredited laboratories nationwide. The CAP formally advised Lt. Col. (Dr.) Michael Bashford, the lab's molecular director, and Maj. (Dr.) Daniel Wattendorf, Medical Genetics Center flight commander, that the genetics laboratory "successfully met the laboratory accreditation program standards for accreditation in cytogenetics, director/organizational assessment, laboratory general and molecular pathology." The official notification also congratulated the lab for the "excellence of the services being provided." According to the CAP, its lab accreditation program, began in the early 1960s, is recognized by the federal government as being equal to or more stringent than the government's own inspection program. During the CAP accreditation process, inspectors examined the lab's records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. Inspectors also examined the entire staff's qualifications, the lab's equipment, facilities, safety program and record, as well as the lab's overall management. "The stringent inspection program is designed specifically to ensure the highest standard of care for the laboratory's patients," the CAP noted. Accreditation is awarded for two-year periods.