Connect to Purpose – Successful FDA Inspection In Fort Worth
A Successful Inspection Highlights Fort Worth’s Role in Making Parenthood Possible
Arnold Ssali, one of the Fort Worth team members who helped with the inspection.
Everyone at Ovation® Fertility knows lab quality makes a huge difference in whether a fertility treatment cycle helps a patient become a parent. It’s why our lab teams work hard behind the scenes every day. From preparing semen samples for analysis to using ICSI to fertilize eggs, the people in our labs are committed to excellence. A surprise FDA inspection at Ovation Fort Worth recently provided further proof of this.
The FDA inspectors walked into the Fort Worth lab about a week after Laboratory Director Tonya Ferguson, PhD, HCLD, had an accident that landed her in the hospital.
“After I had an accident on December 20, I had to have emergency surgery and spend a few days in the hospital,” Tonya recalls. “Once I was discharged from the hospital, I started working from home. Right about that time, the FDA walked into the lab.”
With Tonya working from home, the onsite lab team in Fort Worth, specifically Alexa Terry and Arnold Ssali, were tasked with handling the FDA inspection. This was initially a nerve-wracking situation. Alexa had never worked directly with the FDA before, and Arnold had only been working in the lab for a few weeks.
It turns out there was no reason to worry. “Alexa and Arnold were amazing. They managed the inspection, while our Director of Risk Management Cassie Miller and I guided them over the phone, and they got everything the inspector needed. They were so professional and made it seem like they had been handling inspections forever,” Tonya says. “I was so impressed by the way they handled it without me physically being there.”
It turns out that the FDA inspectors were also impressed with Alexa and Arnold because our Fort Worth lab passed the inspection with no deficiencies. “They did such a great job, and I’m so proud of them,” Tonya says.
Passing the surprise FDA inspection with flying colors represents Ovation’s focus on delivering the highest quality of lab services so that more patients can become parents. “We stay very busy in the labs, but we never forget that the work we do is changing lives and helping people build families,” Tonya explains. “It’s always amazing to take a moment to sit back and think about this greater purpose.”