LWMC Lab Awarded Gold Seal Accreditation from TJC

Lake Wales, FL (September 14, 2012) – Lake Wales Medical Center’s laboratory has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in laboratories. The accreditation award recognizes LWMC’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s standards.

LWMC underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey in June 2012. A team of Joint Commission surveyors evaluated the hospital for compliance with standards of care that directly affect the quality and safety of diagnostic services and patient care.

The Joint Commission’s laboratory standards emphasize the results a laboratory should achieve instead of emphasizing the technical methods of performing testing, and were developed with input from professional laboratory organizations. Joint Commission standards address processes that follow laboratory specimens from the doctor’s order into the laboratory from specimen collection then back to the patient through result reporting, focusing on the provision of high quality, safe laboratory services integrated with patient care. These standards highlight the essential nature of laboratory services on the actual care and service delivery processes that contribute to and support the overall health care delivery system.