Winchester Medical Center Verification of Sigma Performance

Winchester Medical Center, part of the Valley Health System, in Winchester, Virginia, has become the first laboratory in the United States to receive its Sigma Verification of Performance. It was long overdue.

Winchester Medical Center Verification of Sigma-metric Performance

Original Verification: April 28th, 2017
Current Verification: December 20th, 2022 through December 31st, 2023

In April of 2017, Westgard QC was pleased to verify the performance of Winchester Medical Center in Virginia.

Winchester Medical Center Sigma VP, Sten Westgard, and Dr Joseph Litten

"A not-for-profit hospital, Winchester Medical Center has been serving the region since 1903. As a regional referral center, Winchester Medical Center is a resource for more than 400,000 residents in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and western Maryland. Our experienced team of physicians provides comprehensive, high quality care and access to specialists right here in Winchester. We offer a broad spectrum of services – from diagnostic and medical procedures to advanced surgical options and rehabilitative care. Winchester Medical Center is a:

Level II Trauma Center
Chest Pain Center
Advanced Primary Stroke Center
Level 4 Epilepsy Center
Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Magnet Designated Hospital"

Dr. Joseph Litten has been an early adopter of Six Sigma metrics, using it to benchmark vendors as early as 2008, long before the Sigma Verification program existed. Dr. Litten also provided a chapter detailing his experiences in the latest edition of Clinics in Laboratory Medicine that we helmed.

The original verification was completed on three ARCHITECT chemistry instruments and three immunoassay instruments. In 2019, the the instruments are now Alinity for chemistry and immunoassy. The analytes verified include

Not only is there are strong consistency in performance from instrument to instrument, there is an equally strong consistency from quarter to quarter. Winchester Medical Center has years worth of performance data and very steady high Sigma-metrics.

Chemistry and Urine Assays

Chemistry Assays	Alinity c#1 Verified	Alinity c#2 Verified	Alinity c#3 Verified
Albumin	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Alk Phos	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
ALT	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Amylase	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
AST	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Bilirubin, Direct	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Bilirubin, Total	Five Sigma	Five Sigma	Five Sigma
Calcium	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Chloride	Four Sigma	Four Sigma	Four Sigma
Cholesterol	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Creatinine Kinase	Six Sigma	-	-
Creatinine	-	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
GGT	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Glucose	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
HDL	Six Sigma	-	Six Sigma
Lactate	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Lithium	Six Sigma	-	Six Sigma
LDL	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
LDH	-	-	Four Sigma
Magnesium	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Phosphorous	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Five Sigma
Prealbumin	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Potassium	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Protein, Total	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Triglycerides	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Uric Acid	Six Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma

more chemistry instruments verified:

Chemistry Assays	Architect c8000 #2 Verified	Architect c8000 #3 Verified
Albumin	Five Sigma	Five Sigma
Alk Phos	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
ALT	Five Sigma	Six Sigma
Amylase	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
AST	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Bilirubin, Direct	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Bilirubin, Total	Four Sigma	Four Sigma
C3	Five Sigma	-
C4	Five Sigma	-
C-Reactive Protein	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Calcium	Five Sigma	Four Sigma
Chloride	Six Sigma	Five Sigma
Cholesterol	-	Six Sigma
Creatinine Kinase	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Creatinine	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Glucose	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
HDL	-	Five Sigma
IgA	Five Sigma	-
IgG	Six Sigma	-
IgM	Four Sigma	-
Iron	Five Sigma	Five Sigma
Lactate	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
LDL	-	Five Sigma
Lipase	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Phosphorous	-	Four Sigma
Prealbumin	-	Six Sigma
Potassium	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Protein, Total	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Transferrin	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Triglycerides	-	Six Sigma
Urea Nitrogen	Four Sigma	Four Sigma
Uric Acid	-	Six Sigma

Immunoassays

Immunoassays	Alinity c#1 Verified	Alinity c#2 Verified	Alinity c#3 Verified
Gentamicin	Four Sigma	-	-
Salicylate	Four Sigma	Six Sigma	Six Sigma
Tobramycin	Four Sigma	-	-