May 8, 2020 is the Institute Celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of the Star. It is a significant day to all who worked for the accreditation and certification of the Molecular Laboratory of De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute (DLSMHSI) in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, Philippines.
In the certification from the Philippines’ Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), DLSMHSI can now perform independent tests for COVID-19 through Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), and experts consider it as the gold standard in corona virus testing. DLSMHSI has five PCR machines and in 2-3 weeks another 5 more machines will be added. The molecular laboratory could run up to 1,000 RT-PCR tests per day and is now the 24th COVID-19 testing center in the country.
In order for a laboratory to be a COVID-19 testing center, it must attain a level 5 certification and a license from RITM. The laboratory will undergo and should pass the 5-stage process that includes assessment, validation or on-site assessment by experts, personnel training, proficiency testing or validation, and full-scale implementation.
DLSMHSI, in partnership with the Cavite Provincial Government, can now provide high quality healthcare service to Cavite and its neighboring provinces. This certification will change the battlefield against the coronavirus as we play a vital responsibility in flattening the curve.
St. John Baptist de La Salle...Pray for us! Live Jesus in our hearts...Forever! (Text: Br. Dan Sanding FSC; Photos: Dr. Charles Yu, MD, MSc, FPCP, FPCCP)
