Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center has announced it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Laboratory Services Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
TLRMC underwent a rigorous onsite survey on March 27 and 28 of this year. During the review, a Joint Commission expert surveyor evaluated compliance with laboratory standards related to several areas, including document and process control, healthcare-associated conditions, risk reduction, and staff qualifications and competency. The surveyor also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
The Joint Commission has accredited hospital laboratory services since 1979 and freestanding laboratories since 1995. More than 1,500 organizations, including laboratories in hospitals, reference labs, blood transfusion and donor centers, public health laboratories, and point-of-care test sites, currently maintain Laboratory Services Accreditation from The Joint Commission, awarded for a two-year cycle.
“Joint Commission accreditation provides laboratories with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas from specimen collection to result reporting,” said Heather Hurley, executive director of Laboratory Business Development, The Joint Commission. “We commend Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center for its efforts to have laboratory services contribute and support the overall health care delivery system.”
“We are very proud to have received accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” added Brittany Clemons, RN, MSN, Director of Quality at TLRMC. “Our laboratory staff continues to work together to develop and implement approaches and strategies that have the potential to improve care for the patients in our community.”
The Joint Commission’s laboratory standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. The standards are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help organizations measure, assess and improve performance.
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
(Photo: Matt Smith, Lab Manager, goes over a new testing procedure with staff at the TLRMC laboratory)
By Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center
