The Wilcox Memorial Hospital laboratory, which does an average of five tests for every Kauaian every year, has won national accolades. Accreditation came recently from the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists. Begun in the early
The Wilcox Memorial Hospital laboratory, which does an average of five tests for every Kauaian every year, has won national accolades.
Accreditation came recently from the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists. Begun in the early 1960s, the lab accreditation program is recognized by the federal government as being equal to or more stringent than the government’s own inspection program.
The lab, and accreditation process, actually includes both the Kaua-i Medical Clinic lab and the hospital lab located behind the emergency room.
Mark Nishimoto, manager and director of laboratory services at the hospital, was congratulated by the commission for the “excellence of the services being provided.”
The Wilcox lab is one of over 6,000 CAP-accredited laboratories nationwide.
Inspectors examine the records and quality control of the laboratory for the preceding two years, as well as the education and qualifications of the staff, adequacy of facilities, equipment, laboratory safety and laboratory management to determine how well the lab is serving patients.
Wilcox has contracted with Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc. to manage and operate the laboratory.
According to Lani Yukimura, hospital spokeswoman, the lab is one of the favorite parts of hospital tours for school groups.
Since the laboratory deals with human bodily fluids which may contain infectious diseases, it follows stringent safety requirements for employee health as imposed on all accredited laboratories.
Those requirements are based on the “universal precaution” principals that are mandated for all hospitals. These principals generally require that all hospital personnel treat any type of specimen or sample that comes from the human body as a potentially contagious biohazard and protect themselves accordingly.
The lab requires that anyone who will be in an area that handles any specimens wear protective clothing, including a full-length disposable gown that covers all of both arms and is buttoned up to the neck. Safety glasses or regular eyeglasses are required when there is any chance of splashing while handling the specimens.
If the outer protective clothing becomes soiled, it must be removed immediately and replaced with a clean gown, Nishimoto said. Disposable gloves are also required for handling and collecting specimens from patients. Gloves are to be thrown away and replaced with clean gloves after every patient or specimen handled.
All outer protective clothing must be removed before leaving the lab, to contain all potential biohazards within the lab. The break room is the only designated “clean room” in the lab, and requires that all personnel remove their outer protective clothing before entering.
Nishimoto, a state-licensed medical technologist, manages six departments in the lab and 34 employees, supported by two pathologists who provide the medical directorship over the lab’s approximately 300,000 tests a year.
CAP is a medical society serving nearly 16,000 physician members and the laboratory community throughout the world. It is the world’s largest association composed exclusively of pathologists, and is widely considered the leader in laboratory quality assurance.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
