SITKA, ALASKA – SouthEast Regional Healthcare Consortium (SEARHC) laboratories at Sitka Medical Center (SMC) and Ethel Lund Medical Center (ELMC) each received perfect scores during their most recent surveys by the Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation (COLA). Flawless survey results at the SMC lab during the June survey, paired with at least three prior successful testing events and no substantial complaints against the laboratory, earned the department the Laboratory Excellence Award on top of its perfect score commendation.
The award was a first of its kind for the SMC lab, Laboratory Technical Coordinator Stephanie Moore, and her staff. The ELMC lab, led by Laboratory Manager Erin Frasher, was a recipient of the Laboratory Excellence Award in 2017.
“We have a Consortium-wide system in place that touches every aspect of laboratory service,” said SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Director of Laboratory Service Constance Stager. “In the past two years, all five SEARHC laboratories, along with the point of care testing sites across the Consortium, have been surveyed by professional inspectors from multiple accrediting agencies. All sites have received scores that put them in the top one percent of laboratories nationwide. These excellent results are a testament to SEARHC’s dedication to excellence and the highest standards in patient care.”
Founded in 1988, COLA is a physician-directed organization with a purpose of promoting excellence in laboratory medicine and patient care, helping ensure accurate test results, assist labs in running in accordance with quality systems, and meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) accreditation requirements. COLA accreditation is given only to laboratories that apply rigid standards of quality in day-to-day operations, demonstrate continued accuracy in the performance of proficiency testing, and pass a rigorous on-site laboratory survey.