Most of 2020 has been consumed by the events and issues surrounding the Covid-19 Virus. However, that didn’t stop the Laboratory at Houlton Regional Hospital from completing a successful State CLIA Inspection of their Laboratory services.
According to Sherry Foster, MLT(ASCP), “A thorough inspection of the Laboratory and its functions is performed every two years. On June 30th, all aspects of HRH Laboratory were evaluated by an external surveyor. The survey of the laboratory’s processes consisted of instrumentation validations, personnel qualifications and credentials, employee competency and evaluations, external proficiency testing programs, policy and procedure manuals, new test implementations, Quality Control performance, Quality Assurance monitors, verification checks, internal quality programs, patient report examples, and a comprehensive review of Blood Bank. Upon completion of the survey, the laboratory received a perfect score of 100% in compliance!”
HRH provides a quality, full-service laboratory consisting of Blood Bank, Coagulation, Hematology, Chemistry/Special Chemistry, Blood Gas, Urinalysis/Urine drug screens, Point of Care, and Microbiology. Foster, who has worked in the Lab for 36 years also explains, “The technicians and phlebotomy staff are highly trained and skilled personnel. Coverage is supplied 24 hours a day, 365 days each year, servicing an active Emergency Department, Inpatients, several area Nursing Home facilities and Outpatients. HRH’s Lab is unique in its management structure. The Lab is managed by a Shared Governance model which functions by seven committees sharing the leadership responsibilities. Each member of the laboratory is on at least one committee. This management structure has been successfully in place for over twenty years. The staff at HRH Laboratory demonstrates quality, compassionate care, by exceptional people.”