SUN CITY WEST (June 17, 2022) – Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center and Laboratory Sciences of Arizona (LSA) have received international recognition for their innovative work during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve lab result times.
Banner Del E. Webb and LSA received The 2021 UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence Top Global Winner award, one of three given out internationally every year. The UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence awards program was created by health care organizations from around the world to recognize exceptional projects that highlight innovative problem solving and the novel use of laboratory science.
“Banner is an organization that has courageous innovation as a core value and this award epitomizes that value,’’ said Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer for Banner Health. “We are proud of our team for developing such a unique and highly scalable solution.’’
The team comprised of Del Webb and LSA members recognized that improving lab-result times could help improve patients’ diagnoses, ongoing care and discharge times. To improve times, the multidisciplinary team employed a variety of process-improvement techniques including Six Sigma, Scrum, Kanban, Lean and Design Thinking, to analyze the situation and come up with solutions.
“Our laboratory team collaborated with their peers, kept patient care the priority, and thought innovatively to find a solution that improved turnaround time, patient care, and communication. Thank you to the clinical laboratory, nurses, physicians, quality team, and clinical care operations for making this process a success,” said Meghan Shapiro, chief operating officer, Hospital Laboratory Operations, LSA.
UNIVANTS international judges, representing leading specialist societies, institutions and associations from various medical disciplines, reviewed hundreds of applications. The Webb/LSA proposal was praised for its uniqueness and its potential to be used widely in other applications.
As part of the award, Banner Del E. Webb and LSA team members have been invited to attend a roundtable discussion with other award winners that will take place in Seoul, South Korea, this summer.
About Banner Health
Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner also has an academic division, Banner – University Medicine, and a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health-insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits, and Banner operates a free 24/7 nurse line for health questions or concerns. Patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.
About Laboratory Sciences of Arizona
Laboratory Sciences of Arizona LLC (LSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Banner Health, is part of the largest integrated laboratory network in the U.S. along with Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (SQL), a joint venture between Banner Health and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX). LSA and SQL have approximately 3,700 employees serving more than 33,000 patients every day throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. This integrated lab network is the market share leader in clinical laboratory testing in Arizona and offers a comprehensive test menu that encompasses routine, molecular, prescription drug monitoring, genetic/genomic, women’s health, and pathology testing services. LSA and SQL are accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is the gold standard in laboratory accreditation, helping laboratories to maintain the accuracy of test results and ensure accurate patient diagnosis. Together, LSA and SQL strive to make available to their customers, patients, and physicians, as well as the related communities, the highest level of quality and services in laboratory diagnosis and testing.
The UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence Program
The UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence Program, founded in 2018, recognizes teams who practice multidisciplinary collaboration to advance healthcare delivery and, ultimately, patient lives. The founding program partners include the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), AACC (former American Association for Clinical Chemistry), EHMA (European Health Management Association), Modern Healthcare, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), and the Institute of Health Economics (IHE); each in partnership with Abbott.
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