About Our Team

About our Laboratory Team and the Department

Our team of medical laboratory technologists and assistants provide services for the community of Sioux Lookout and the surrounding area – a population of approximately 30,000.  Three technologists are classified as senior techs, with responsibilities for biochemistry, microbiology, and hematology/transfusion medicine, as well as rotation through other lab areas. The laboratory manager oversees the program, and is responsible for quality management, infection control and lab safety.

In October 2016, the SLMHC laboratory officially became ISO 15189 certified. This designation signifies that the SLMHC laboratory has followed and maintained the most vigorous quality standards on an ongoing basis. This accreditation level is the highest possible level any medical laboratory in the world can attain.

In May 2018, the SLMHC laboratory was awarded a four-year accreditation certificate from the Institute of Quality Management in Healthcare, a division of the Ontario Medical Association.

The laboratory is an active participant in the Kenora Rainy River Regional Laboratory Program (KRRRLP), a program established to allow a sharing of laboratory resources and information among six hospitals in Northwestern Ontario, which include Sioux Lookout, Kenora, Fort Frances, Red Lake, Dryden, and Atikokan. KRRRLP helps maximize the efforts of the individual laboratories to provide the highest levels of service to all patients. A microbiology working group and a transfusion medicine working group conduct regular meetings to improve and enhance protocols and procedures, ensuring current standards are implemented.