SVMC Lab Receives National Accreditation

BENNINGTON, VT—November 18, 2021—The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to the laboratory at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).  The laboratory is staffed by a team of phlebotomists, technical laboratory technologists, medical technologist, cytologist, and pathologists who work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to deliver laboratory results to the patients of SVMC.

“Laboratory accreditation ensures accuracy,” said Karen Bond, the department’s director. “CAP’s vigorous inspection confirms that SVMC is delivering high quality results that patients and their physicians can trust.”

During the CAP accreditation process, highly trained peer inspectors, people who work in other accredited labs of about the same size, examine the laboratory’s records and procedures. They also review laboratory staff qualifications and training, equipment, facilities, the safety program, the safety record, and overall management.

Along with the routine requirements to maintain accreditation, the SVMC laboratory has implemented many new COVID-19 test platforms in the past 18 months. The lab has processed the majority of COVID-19 specimens collected throughout the health system.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. It has also received the highest marks possible from the Leapfrog Group. 

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.