Labs Are Vital Program Moves into Community Hands

A consortium comprised of international laboratory professional bodies has announced it has formed to build on the success of Abbott’s Labs Are Vital program. The goal of the program remains the same: to emphasize the critical role that laboratory professionals play in improving patient care, and raising the profile of laboratory medicine as an attractive career choice.

Labs Are Vital will now operate as an independent program driven by the community it serves. A new Members Board has been formed to achieve this, made up of representatives from IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine), WASPaLM (World Association of Societies of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine), ASCP (American Society of Clinical Pathology) and IFBLS (International Federation for Biomedical and Laboratory Science).

Graham Beastall, IFCC President and long-term supporter of Labs Are Vital, commented: "We stand by the original goals for the program, and we are committed to making Labs Are Vital a powerful voice in support of the essential contribution laboratory medicine makes to our healthcare system. Our first task has been to build a new blog, web and social media-based home for Labs Are Vital which can now be found at: www.labsarevital.com. We anticipate that this will be the place where supporters interact with the program and each other!"

Labs Are Vital was launched in 2006 as an industry initiative by Abbott and has had a significant impact, with more than 16,000 supporters signed-up around the world.

Graham Beastall added: "We are pleased Abbott will continue to support Labs Are Vitalas a key sponsor to help the consortium achieve its goals. Importantly, other industry partners will be encouraged to support the program as well, as we build on the heritage of this great program.”

To find out more, click on the ‘request information’ tab below, or email: labsarevitalcommunity@ascp.org