Memorial Hospital Laboratory earns AABB Accreditation - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

The following is a Press Release from the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital:

The Lake Charles Memorial Hospital (LCMH) Laboratory has been granted AABB Accreditation for transfusion services, according to Dr. C.G. Bowling, medical director of the laboratory.

Accreditation follows an intensive on-site assessment by specially trained AABB assessors and establishes that the level of technical and administrative performance within the facility meets or exceeds the standards set by AABB. By successfully meeting those requirements, LCMH joins similar facilities located throughout the United States and around the world that have also earned AABB Accreditation.

"The AABB Accreditation procedures are voluntary," Dr. Bowling says. "Memorial has sought AABB Accreditation because this program assists facilities around the world in achieving excellence by promoting a level of professional and technical expertise that contributes to quality performance and patient safety."

AABB's Accreditation Program contributes to the quality and safety of collecting, processing, testing, distributing and administering blood and cellular therapy products. The Accreditation Program assesses the quality and operational systems in place within a facility. The basis for assessment is compliance with AABB standards, Code of Federal Regulation and other federal guidance documents.

The AABB Accreditation program has been recognized by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have found the AABB accreditation process to provide reasonable assurance that the facilities accredited by it meet or exceed the conditions required by federal law and regulations.

Established in 1947, AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) is an international, not-for-profit association dedicated to the advancement of science and the practice of transfusion medicine and related biological therapies. The association is committed to improving health by developing and delivering standards, accreditation and educational programs and services to optimize patient and donor care and safety.