Hidalgo County’s Public Health Laboratory announced to the Commissioners Court that it successfully passed a College of American Pathologists (CAP) inspection on Sept. 9 and received accreditation with no deficiencies.

Veronica Cuate, the lab manager, and Dr. Martha Luna, the lab’s medical director, presented the accreditation and said CAP’s inspection goes beyond federal CLIA requirements by emphasizing ongoing quality improvement, patient and employee safety and higher levels of proficiency testing. "We received 0 a perfect score, 0 deficiencies, which is absolutely unheard of, especially for a lab first time," Dr. Luna told the court.

County officials and staff congratulated the laboratory team and noted the accreditation supports reliability of testing for public‑health surveillance and clinical testing in the region. Presenters said the lab’s mission includes serving low‑ and moderate‑income families and ensuring accurate results for community testing needs.

Commissioners and staff posed no questions that affected the accreditation; the presentation was accepted and the court joined in recognition of the staff’s work.