Local healthcare provider demonstrates commitment to delivering superior patient care.

In a commitment to continue to provide superior healthcare programs and services to the region, Faith Community Health System (FCHS) has announced that the hospital’s clinical laboratory has met all criteria for Laboratory Accreditation by COLA, a national healthcare accreditation organization.

Laboratory accreditation is given only to laboratories that apply rigid standards of quality in day-to-day operations, demonstrate continued accuracy in the performance of proficiency testing, and pass a rigorous on-site laboratory survey. The laboratory at FCHS has earned COLA accreditation as a result of a long-term commitment to provide quality service.

“Since moving into our new hospital facility just a few short years ago, we knew that having something new was not enough,” says Frank L. Beaman, CEO of FCHS. “Our team has been working tirelessly to ensure our patients are treated with world-class service, and this accreditation helps reinforce that commitment.”

COLA is a nonprofit, physician-directed organization promoting quality and excellence in medicine and patient care through programs of voluntary education, achievement, and accreditation. In 1993, COLA was granted deemed status by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide laboratory accreditation.

As a leading laboratory accreditor in the nation, COLA is the only laboratory accreditation provider that operates its accreditation program in accordance with a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015 standards. This means the organization offers unique, standardized programs and staff dedicated to satisfaction and laboratory quality. Their surveyors and technical advisors are guided by a coaching approach and uncomplicated quality engineered processes. Laboratories of all types and sizes are evaluated and mentored to produce accurate test results and meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations.

COLA is backed by an impressive coalition of respected healthcare organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Internal Medicine, and the American College of Physicians.