NAACLS Grants Edison’s Medical Laboratory Technician Program Accreditation

Edison Community College’s Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) program has once again received the highest level of accreditation from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). The NAACLS Board of Directors granted seven-year accreditation to the program on April 10, 2014, based upon the continuing accreditation review process that included a site visit.

As a career field with excellent job prospects, Edison’s in-demand MLT program is available to individuals wishing to make a contribution to the healthcare field by performing diagnostic testing to help physicians accurately diagnose and treat patients. In this program, students learn the skills needed to obtain, process, test and evaluate various biological samples taken from patients.

“I like to think of the MLT profession as the crime scene investigation of healthcare,” said Kathy Gehret, director of the MLT program. “Medical Laboratory Technicians are doing the behind the scenes work to determine how to properly diagnose an illness and prescribe the right antibiotics for treatment. This field of work is great for analytical thinkers who have an interest in the healthcare but don’t necessarily want to work directly with patients.”

To obtain reaccreditation, Edison’s MLT program participated in an extensive self-study process measuring the program and its services against standards of the NAACLS accreditation criteria. The program received accreditation after an on-site visit by NAACLS review committee in Fall 2013 to ensure that it met each of the eight program standards.

Sustaining accreditation from the NAACLS is an ongoing process. During the seven-year accreditation period, the program will be required to make annual reports documenting that they’ve maintained compliance with the review process standards.

The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science is committed to being the premier international agency for accreditation and approval of education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences and related health care professions. NAACLS provides leadership in fostering innovative educational approaches and actively supports cooperative efforts with other agencies.

For more information about Edison’s MLT program or its NAACLS accreditation visit www.edisonohio.edu