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Mrs. Anissa Riley,

Office of External Affairs,School of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University

Tuskegee, AL 36088, (334)724-4509, FAX: (334)727-8177, Email: riley@tuskegee.edu

Tuskegee University’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program Director Gets Permanent Status by Accrediting Agency

by Anissa L. Riley

 

Tuskegee, AL -Tuskegee, AL-The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) Review Committee for Accredited Programs recently sent notice to Tuskegee University of the change of status of the University’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS) Program Director. Floyd C. Raven, MS, MT (ASCP), has been upgraded from Acting Program Director to Permanent Program Director status. Mr. Raven has been serving as Acting Director of the CLS program since July 17, 2007.Mr. Raven joined Tuskegee University after serving in the Bio-Medical Science Corps of the United States Air Force as Director, Clinical Laboratory Services, at the 55th Medical Group, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Mr. Raven was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in November 1988 and retired at the rank of Major on January 1, 2007. A total of 29 years of dedicated active military service was rendered to the U.S. Air Force. As the officer in charge of clinical laboratory services, Major Raven was responsible for clinical laboratory operations in histology, cytology, clinical chemistry, blood banking, immunology, hematology and coagulation, urinalysis, point of care testing, microbiology, phlebotomy, and the education and training programs for new medical laboratory technicians.

He was responsible for two officers, twenty-five enlisted members and five civil service members that performed over 160,000 tests per year and oversaw laboratory equipment valued over $600,000. He managed a $278,000 laboratory budget and ensured laboratory compliance standards were met or exceeded as written by the College of American Pathologists, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration. He deployed to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in the Persian Gulf in September 2002 for Operation Enduring Freedom. During this deployment he served as the bioterrorism detection and clinical microbiology expert by performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on many laboratory samples as the only Clinical Laboratory Scientist at the entire base during the deployment. During Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War, he drew and tested over 1000 units of blood for troops deployed to Iraq.

Over his 29 years of military service, he earned three Meritorious Service Medals, five Air Force Commendation Medals, and five Outstanding Unit Awards. “I am very excited to be at Tuskegee University and a part of a great support team in the School of Nursing and Allied Health. Faculty in the CLS program focus on preparing our students to work in the branch of medicine concerned with the performance of laboratory determinations and analyses used in the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of diseases. Our graduates work in hospitals and physicians’ offices, public health laboratories, reference labs, research, industry, the Department of Defense, and other areas of health care,” said Program Director Raven. Tuskegee University’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences program is under the umbrella of the School of Nursing and Allied Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health.

Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam serves as Dean of the College and Dr. Doris Holeman serves and Associate Dean of the School of Nursing and Allied Health. The CLS program has been accredited by the NAACLS since 1978. Its last site visit was in 2004 in which the program was reaccredited until 2011. Tuskegee University’s CLS program will have its next reaccreditation site visit in the fall of 2010. The CLS program is required to maintain accreditation status letters, the most recent Self-Study Report, the Self-Study Report Paper Review, the Site Visit Report, progress reports, and correspondence with the NAACLS. The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences is the premier international agency for accreditation and approval of education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences and related health care professions through the involvement of expert volunteers and its commitment to public service. To learn more about the CLS program at Tuskegee University, contact Floyd Raven, Program Director, 334-727-8335, fraven@tuskegee.edu. To learn more about the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, visit www.onemedicine.tuskegee.edu/ and www.tuskegee.edu/.