Torrance Memorial Medical Center First in Nation to Receive Leading Laboratories Recognition From ASCP and The Joint Commission

Media Contacts

Erin Fiorito
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
(917)374-1656

Molly Strzelecki
ASCP
(312) 541-4763

Katie Bronk
The Joint Commission
(630) 792-5175

(Torrance, California, September 6, 2022) – Torrance Memorial Medical Center today announced it is the first in the nation to receive the Leading Laboratories recognition from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and The Joint Commission. The two-year designation serves as proof of Torrance Memorial’s commitment to laboratory excellence and to help improve patient outcomes.

Torrance Memorial underwent a rigorous application process to receive the recognition, including a review of its outcomes, indicators, metrics and evidence. Additionally, it had to demonstrate excellence in four key areas: elevating quality outcomes, supporting professional development, cultivating trusted leadership and promoting laboratory visibility.

With focus on building a high-quality, state-of-the-art laboratory, the Torrance Memorial Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratory (DPCL) initiated a five-year strategic plan based on six key pillars: people and culture, quality, financials, innovation, education, and growth. In 2021, DPCL implemented a robust quality management program. The quality program helped define, establish and maintain a collaborative, systematic and organization-wide approach to quality management.

Additional initiatives have included implementing core lab automation to reduce the outsourcing of select tests, increasing volume of outreach business, reducing turn-around-time, and improving efficiency and productivity. Through a newly produced quarterly newsletter, the DPCL expanded engagement and increased visibility of these new innovations.

Central to the growth of the DPCL was the need to develop high-performing teams. In addition to supporting career development, lab leadership engaged in regular rounding to foster a motivating work climate – recognizing and rewarding outstanding team and individual contributions.

“It is an honor to be the first in the nation to receive the Leading Laboratories recognition. This designation reflects the commitment to excellence by every member of the Torrance Memorial Pathology and Clinical Laboratory,” said Keith Hobbs, executive vice president, Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

“The Leading Laboratories recognition elevates and distinguishes the discerning and empowering work laboratories do for patients every day,” said E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)^CM, CEO of ASCP. “We congratulate Torrance Memorial Medical Center on its dedication to patient care, and its commitment to raising the visibility of the laboratory as the foundation of healthcare.”

“We congratulate Torrance Memorial Medical Center on being the first in the nation to receive the Leading Laboratories recognition,” said Heather Hurley, executive director, Laboratory Accreditation, The Joint Commission. “As the first hospital laboratory to receive this designation, Torrance Memorial is demonstrating its commitment to laboratory staff through professional development and trusted leadership. It also is promoting laboratory visibility, including the complex work of laboratory staff to provide the continuum of care, to its organization, patients and community.”

The Leading Laboratories recognition, developed and refined by laboratory leaders, is available to all Joint Commission-accredited hospital laboratories. To learn more about the program, please visit leadinglaboratories.org.

###

About Torrance Memorial Medical Center

Founded in 1925 by Jared Sidney and Helena Childs Torrance, Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a 443-bed, nonprofit medical center established to provide quality health care services predominantly to the residents of the South Bay, Peninsula and Harbor communities. Torrance Memorial seeks to offer the most current and effective medical technologies rendered in a compassionate, caring manner. No longer just a hospital, today Torrance Memorial Medical Center includes an extensive integrated system of physicians and comprehensive medical services to provide coordinated communication and continuum of care. Torrance Memorial is affiliated with Cedars-Sinai under the umbrella of Cedars-Sinai Health System. Torrance Memorial’s nursing program has earned coveted Magnet^® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes nursing excellence. Torrance Memorial Medical Center has once again been recognized as a Best Hospital for 2022-23 for the eleventh straight year by U.S. News & World Report, placing the hospital in the top 3% in the state. Torrance Memorial is the 11th highest ranking hospital for overall hospital quality in the state of California and 5th in the Los Angeles region.

For more information, please visit: www.TorranceMemorial.org.

About ASCP

Founded in 1922, the American Society for Clinical Pathology unites more than 100,000 anatomic and clinical pathologists, medical laboratory professionals, residents, and students to accelerate the advancement of pathology and laboratory medicine to better improve patient care through knowledge, collaboration, and global community. To learn more, visit www.ascp.org/content/home.

About The Joint Commission

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve healthcare for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 22,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.