InterHospital Laboratory Partnership Celebrates National Laboratory Week and 65 Years of Collaborative Excellence
April 17, 2024
This National Medical Laboratory Week, the InterHospital Laboratory Partnership (IHLP) proudly celebrates 65 years of advancing healthcare through regional collaboration along with the essential role of medical laboratory professionals.
Formed in 1959, the IHLP is the longest standing laboratory partnership in Canada and has grown to serve Southwestern Ontario’s Huron, Perth, Grey, Wellington and Bruce counties. Membership includes Hanover & District Hospital, Huron Health System, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance, South Bruce Grey Health Centre, and Wellington Health Care Alliance. Between these six healthcare organizations there are total of 16 rural hospital sites that employ approximately 200 Medical Laboratory Professionals (pathologists, MLTs, MLAs and administrative staff). Collaboration is a key component to providing comprehensive laboratory services across the region with the six CEOs and the IHLP team meeting regularly.
"The IHLP is a cornerstone of collaborative healthcare delivery,” says Dr. Christopher Tran, Pathologist and IHLP Medical Laboratory Director. “By sharing resources and technical expertise, we can ensure patients have access to a wide range of high-quality tests. This would otherwise be difficult to achieve if each lab was to function individually.”
The IHLP labs performed over 2.2 million laboratory tests in 2023.
“Our dedicated team of laboratory professionals work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure patients get accurate and timely results,” adds Dana Howes, CEO of Hanover & District Hospital and the chair of the IHLP CEO council. “We greatly appreciate the work they do, to improve the health of our rural communities and wish them a Happy National Medical Laboratory Week!”
For more information about the InterHospital Laboratory Partnership, please visit www.ihlp.ca.
IHLP Regional Team and IHLP CEO’s meet at Listowel Memorial Hospital for quarterly IHLP CEO Council Meeting (from left to right): Pamela VanSteelandt, IHLP Quality Lead; Robin Rossi, IHLP Regional Manager; Dr. Christopher Tran, IHLP Laboratory Director; Jimmy Trieu, CEO Huron Health System; Karl Ellis, CEO Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance; Angela Stanley, CEO Wellington Health Care Alliance; and Andrew Williams, CEO Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance.
Absent from the photo are Dana Howes, CEO Hanover and District Hospital; Nancy Shaw, CEO South Bruce Grey Health Centre and IHLP Quality Leads Robert Kerekes and Courtney Luzius-Vanin.