Rainy Lake Medical Center officials announced the facility’s laboratory has met all the criteria for laboratory accreditation by COLA Inc., a leading national laboratory accreditor, whose program and standards enable clinical laboratories and staff to meet U.S. CLIA and other regulatory requirements.
“Laboratory compliance and quality control is a 24/7/365 job,” said Kim Usery, RLMC laboratory director. “The entire RLMC laboratory team works very hard to ensure proper practice, documentation, and corrective measure to make sure that we are providing the best and most accurate results for our patients.”
The accreditation is good for two years, and RLMC received it previously in 2021. Usery noted the positive impacts on the partnership between RLMC and COLA.
“COLA is a great organization to work with,” she said. “They offer guidance and education to make sure that we are fulfilling all the needed requirements. This year we also had further support from Dr. Lappinga, our pathologist and laboratory medical director, and Kim Schulz, our clinical consultant from Sanford. Their expertise has been vital for help us to stay up-to-date with best practice. Their assistance made the survey process very smooth. Successful accreditation takes a team and I am proud to be part of a quality team like we have here at RLMC.”
About Rainy Lake Medical Center
Rainy Lake Medical Center stands at the forefront of delivering exceptional medical services to the Borderland communities. With a comprehensive range of offerings, including emergency care, surgery, cardiology rehab and diagnostics, chemo and infusion therapy, family medicine clinics, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, therapy services, sleep studies, laboratory services, respiratory therapy and orthopedics, RLMC continues to excel in providing compassionate care for all. RLMC is also dedicated to offering both acute and skilled nursing services through its renowned swing bed care program. For more information about RLMC, visit rainylakemedical.com.
About COLA
COLA Inc. 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 Inc. was granted deemed status by CMS to provide laboratory accreditation.
As a leading laboratory accreditor in the United States, COLA Inc. is the only laboratory accreditation provider that operates its accreditation program in accordance with a quality management system. This means COLA Inc. offers customers a unique, standardized program and staff dedicated to satisfaction and laboratory quality.
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 CLIA regulations.
