Congratulations MDARD!!
The Communicator: Volume 5, Issue 11, November 2024
Welcome to the Accreditation Corner. This will be the home of tidbits of information about the accreditation program, including any labs accredited in the previous month, updates to available resources, quality management tips, etc. Most importantly, the Accreditation Committee would like to announce the first official NPDN core accredited lab: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)!
They became accredited on October 1, 2024. Congratulations to Elizabeth Dorman, and Dr. Stefanie Rhodes for their commitment to quality diagnostics. They began their application for core accreditation through LearnUpon on July 29, 2024, had their audit/review on August 19 (Figure 1), and became officially accredited on October 1, 2024. This is a momentous milestone for both MDARD and for the Accreditation Committee. The committee has been working tirelessly on developing and implementing this accreditation program for many years. Aside from the announcement of our first official accredited lab, we would also like to announce the Fall 2024 Help sessions that started October 23rd. They are every Wednesday from 1-2pm eastern and more information can be found here (after login). Please visit the accreditation website (after login) for several resources to help you and your lab reach your quality management goals.
Just a reminder that the deadline to submit your lab’s quality manual is 18 months from now (May 15, 2026) and the deadline to apply for core accreditation is about 2 years from now (December 31, 2026). Most labs make the most progress during the winter months, and we are coming upon the second-to-last winter before the deadlines. Please reach out to the Accreditation Committee leadership anytime at accreditation@npdn.org or to the Accreditation Program Manager at stephanie.shea@maine.edu. We are here to help!
