Mountain Vista Medical Center and Florence Hospital have been awarded College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation. Only 8,000 facilities annually receive this prestigious service excellence award worldwide.

“We are honored to receive the most rigorous accreditation in laboratory science,” said Kevin Brown, Mountain Vista Medical Center and Florence Hospital laboratory director. “The accreditation demonstrates the quality of our laboratories test results delivered to our patients every day.” 

The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own inspection program.

The CAP's program is based on rigorous accreditation standards that are translated into 21-discipline-specific detailed checklist requirements. Inspection teams use the checklists as a guide to assess the laboratory's overall management and operation for the preceding two years. Inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, safety programs and records. The CAP Checklists Committee, made up of practicing pathologist members, lead the annual review and updating of checklists, seeking input from experts in pathology and laboratory medicine. 

“The CAP is pleased to recognize these Steward Health Care facilities as meeting the high standard set as part of the CAP’s Accreditation Program,” said Richard M. Scanlan, MD, FCAP, chair of the CAP’s Council on Accreditation. “ They join others that are committed to raising the quality of laboratory services nationally and internationally.”

The program is internationally recognized and is the largest of its kind that utilizes teams of practicing laboratory professionals as inspectors. Designed to go well beyond regulatory compliance, the program helps laboratories achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care while reflecting advancements in medicine, technology and laboratory management.