Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s laboratory earned re-accreditation from the College of American Pathologists this month following a rigorous on-site survey and numerous accomplishments and critical services provided during a challenging year.

SMH was in the final phases of implementing an automated microbiology system and new bacterial identification and sensitivity system when the first patient from the Suncoast region tested positive for Covid-19 in March 2020. The SMH team completed a record 4 million-plus lab tests that year while introducing new testing platforms to identify patients infected with Covid-19. The department has continued to set all-time monthly records in 2021.

The re-accreditation notification came the same week the lab completed its 100,000th molecular PCR test. SMH had no in-house Covid-19 testing capabilities when the first cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in March 2020; since then, it has added six molecular testing instruments to the laboratory.