The Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories Recognizes the Vital Work of Ontario's Lab Professionals

TORONTO, April 25, 2016 /CNW/ - April 24^th - April 30^th is National Medical Laboratory Week – a week that promotes awareness and understanding of the role of medical laboratory professionals in Canada's healthcare system. The Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories ("OAML") applauds the vital work performed by the thousands of laboratory professionals in the community medical laboratory sector. Over the course of this week, OAML members are celebrating the contributions that medical laboratory professionals make for patients, health care providers and health care systems in Ontario and all across Canada.

"The OAML continues to work with the government and other healthcare partners to deliver innovative services that are sustainable and continue to meet the changing needs of Ontarians," said Paul Gould CEO of the OAML, "Working together with other leading organizations, community labs embrace new ideas and innovations that deliver better care". 

The OAML is proud to highlight initiatives undertaken by the medical laboratory professionals of Ontario's community labs for patients, healthcare providers and Ontario's healthcare system:

• Together with Cancer Care Ontario, community labs deliver province-wide screening for early detection of colorectal cancer;
• Partnering with the Ontario Government and the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare, OAML members developed a new program to be introduced this summer that will integrate the province's specimen collection centres into the globally recognized standard of Ontario's accreditation program for licensed laboratories;
• Supporting Choosing Wisely Canada in their campaign to help physicians and patients engage in conversations about the most appropriate tests, treatments and procedures based on individual needs. The laboratory physicians and scientists who write the OAML's Guidelines for Clinical Laboratory Practice are helping to ensure the right patients receive the right tests at the right time;
• The OAML also promotes excellence by awarding annual scholarships for students studying Medical Laboratory Technology.

"The breadth of the community labs' impact on healthcare across the province couldn't be achieved if it weren't for the dedication of the laboratory professionals working with us," said Jennifer Yee, President of Medical Labs of Windsor, an OAML member.

The OAML was established in 1978 as the voice of Ontario's community medical laboratory sector.  Its members provide 97 per cent of all diagnostic testing for patients outside of hospitals. Serving in communities all across Ontario, OAML members operate 17 accredited testing facilities (laboratories) and 338 licensed specimen collection centres across the province.

SOURCE Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories

Image with caption: "Association of Medical Laboratories (CNW Group/Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160425_C2557_PHOTO_EN_673262.jpg

Chief Executive Officer: Paul J. Gould, 416-250-8555, [email protected], www.oaml.com